The Fourth Apprentice
by Carly the Llama
Summary: A long time ago, Merlin was a Keyblade wielder alongside Terra, Aqua and Ven. Years later, his past comes back to haunt his new life and destiny. Xehanort is back. Again on an adventure, this time with Arthur in tow, Merlin fights to save his friends, and the universe. But secrets are revealed, making him wonder who he truly is. And poor Arthur just wants to know what's going on.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue: Merlin's scenario**

It was a bright day in Ealdor, Merlin stormed out of his house in rage and walked through the grass in a manner unbefitting a normal five-year-old. He was sick and tired of his mother constantly mentioning she could have chosen to kill him as a child but didn't because he 'deserved to have a chance' so he should never use his magic, the gift or curse he had been born with. For someone who claimed to love him, she made it very difficult to believe her. But something else was troubling the young warlock, he could sense te danger coming.

He could hear his mother shout his name, but he didn't care. He came to rest by a tree and stared in the direction of the setting sun.

'To anyone out there who would listen, please take me away from here.'

He stayed by the tree until his mother's shouts had grown more desperate, so he stood up to go home; only to be surrounded by dark monsters.

He panicked, he didn't know how to fight these things, and he couldn't use his magic because he didn't know how to fight in the first place—give him a break, he's five and a peasant in the middle of fuck fuck nowhere. Not to mention he didn't want another lecture from his mother—the fact he'd rather get killed by these things than hear that his own mother could have killed him during infancy was a sign of Hunith's bad parenting.

There was a flash and Merlin saw a strange looking blade in his hand, it almost looked like a key. The name Dragon's Call appeared in his head and he charged the monsters. Being five, he had no clue how to use the strange blade but that being said, he did pretty well, the monsters vanished.

Merlin was on his hands and knees panting when he heard a gravelly voice behind him "So... Keyblade wielders can be found here. And you, boy, are the most special one yet."

That was the last thing Merlin heard before the world went black.

Merlin woke up to the sun shining brightly on his face.

He sat up and surveyed his surroundings, he was in what looked like a barren wasteland with no civilization for miles; one thing was for sure, he wasn't in Ealdor anymore.

Merlin stood up but was forced back down by someone behind him, he turned and saw a young boy, probably eleven or twelve, with spiky blonde hair and blue eyes matching his own.

The boy smiled, "The master brought you here, he said that you wouldn't be safe on your home world."

Merlin paused, home world, he was on another world? Huh, don't hear that every day.

His thoughts were interrupted by the gravelly voice again, this time he turned and saw a bald old man with dark skin and piercing gold eyes "Indeed Ventus. I apologize, boy, for taking you from your home so abruptly, but you wouldn't be safe there if they found you with your Keyblade"

Merlin thought about this for a moment. He knew the man was telling the truth about not being safe, but something still seemed off about him. But this man had heard his plea and given him his wish, what could possibly be so bad about him?

The boy, Ventus, smiled broadly "It will be okay, Master Xehanort is nice. Oh, I'm Ventus, you can call me Ven."

Merlin grinned, he really liked this Ven "I'm Merlin."

OoOoO

A few months passed, both Merlin and Ven trained with Master Xehanort and were making progress, but Merlin noticed that the Master was becoming very hard on Ven. He was always going on about something called the X-blade and insisted Ven forge it, much to Ventus's obvious dislike. Other than that, everything was going great...

Until the day everything came crashing down.

OoOoO

It started as a normal day, get up, eat food, train. But today everything changed.

When Merlin woke up he heard shouting, he immediately summoned his Keyblade and ran out the door to be met with a peculiar sight: Ven was surrounded by the dark monsters—Merlin now knew were called Heartless—screaming, "Please don't do this, Master! I'm not strong enough!" Keyblade in hand, Ven cried out in fright. From above, gazing down from the cliff's edge, Xehanort stood watching.

The heartless began closing in on Ven. A black stain on the earth started to spread, from it one, two new Heartless appeared.

Apprehensively, Merlin summoned his Keyblade, ready to help, his palm already moist with sweat.

"No, it is because you are trying to hold it in." He heard Xehanort say, "Let the dark impulses waken in the pit of your heart. Release them, here and now! Sharpen your fear into rage! You must!"

I don't understand. Merlin thought to himself, what is Master Xehanort doing? You can't turn fear into anger. Can you? If asked that question ten or even five years later, he would say yes, absolutly.

"If you do not let the storm within you run its course, it will wipe you from the face of the world, make no mistake! Do it! Embrace the darkness!" Xehanort insisted, "Produce for your master the X-blade!"

A Heartless came in for an attack. Ven barely managed to hold off the strike. However, when they saw their chance, the Heartless assaulted him all at once. The black mass of heartless clung onto him, his body disappearing from sight.

"Ven!" Merlin shouted, jumping from the cliff, ready to help. One of the Heartless vanished from sight.

When they heard Ven's name cried out, the heartless noticed Merlin. Realizing he was the greater enemy, they lost interest in Ven at once and surrounded the younger wielder. But it was too late for Ventus, who collapsed with a thud and was unconscious. As his eyes closed, Merlin proceeded to annihilate the gang of heartless, Xehanort watching in fascination.

After Merlin brought down all the heartless, on his knees, trying to catch his breath, Xehanort slowly stepped toward Ven's collapsed form.

"Really? You would rather die than use the power? Feckless neophyte." Xehanort lightly kicked Ven, turning his body over so he would be face up. For a moment he stared into his face while he thought. "If I must... I will extract the darkness from within you myself." He summoned his Keyblade and thrust it deep into Ventus' chest before Merlin had time to react, let alone realize something bad was happening. A light shot out from his chest and Ven's eyes snapped open.

Ven's chest emitted a bright light, from which rose a pitch-black figure. Within the large, dark egg-like sphere appeared a boy in a black suit and mask holding his knees like an infant. The boy slowly straightened his body. Landing on the ground, he gazed at Xehanort.

Merlin wailed, clutching Ven's lifeless body close to him, trying every healing spell he knew, but to no avail. He had never been great with heal spells, but net even the Mega-Potions were helping.

Xehanort looked over at him "Merlin, there is nothing you can do."

Merlin still screamed in anger, letting his true age and vulnerability show for the first time in months, but was pulled away by Xehanort and Vanitas threw him into his room. He realized then that he should have listened to his instincts that Xehanort was bad, he was six years old for goddesses' sake! He should be able to handle himself.

He pounded on the door for a while, as the door was magic-proof. But eventually, he gave up and fell asleep.

OoOoO

When he woke up, he was being pulled off the floor by Vanitas, and thrown in front of Xehanort,

"You and Ventus are going to train with a friend of mine, Eraqus. Ventus has no memory, so if you say a word about what happened I will kill him, Eraqus and his two pupils, Aqua and Terra... understood?"

Merlin nodded vigorously, trying to get away from the psychopath as soon as possible. Xehanort smiled, pleased. He opened a corridor of darkness and, along with Ven, they walked through.

When Merlin arrived at the Land of Departure he was amazed by all the color and light, it was very different from the Keyblade Graveyard, where he had been training before. The Keyblade Graveyard was purely beige and brown as far as the eye could see.

Merlin climbed up the stairs, holding Ven's hand to guide him. Regardless of what Xehanort said, Ven seemed almost dead, his pupils were gone completely, leaving only a sea of dark blue; he didn't speak, and he needed guidance when it came to moving.

Xehanort knocked and the door opened.

Merlin saw two teenagers standing on a platform above them looking down. The first was a young woman with blue hair and the second was a young man with brown hair. Both teens came running down while Xehanort left to talk to a man Merlin could only assume was Eraqus. The young man came up to them "I'm Terra. What are your names?" to Merlin's surprise, Ven actually spoke, albeit weakly "Ventus."

Terra smiled looking over to Merlin "And you?"

"Merlin"

The girl then came running up to her friend "Hi, I'm Aqua."

Ven looked awed "Terra... Aqua."

Terra flashed a smiled "So are you hear to train with us? Where are you from? Who was that man with you? Are you good with Keyblades?"

During those questions, Ven began to look troubled, by the last one he was on his knees screaming before losing consciousness. "Woah! What's the matter?" Terra asked.

Aqua seemed worried as well "Are you okay!?"

Merlin bent down holding Ven in his arms when Xehanort and the other man came running down

"What did you do?" Eraqus asked panicked.

Terra and Aqua were panicked as well "Nothing... I just asked them some stuff."

Merlin looked at the floor sadly and spoke "Ven cannot tell you anything. Because he cannot remember anything." earning a gasp from both teens.

OoOoO

Ten days. Ven had been asleep for ten days. To say Merlin was worried was an understatement. He had been trying to distract himself by hanging out with Terra and Aqua, who were quite nice people, but that didn't settle his worry for Ven.

While he was eating lunch with Terra, they heard Aqua yell "Terra! Master Eraqus! Merlin! Ventus is awake!" Which lead to both boys running upstairs.

When he saw Ven, Merlin lunged and gave him a bear hug. To his surprise, Ven hugged back "Merlin."

Merlin looked up and Ven was weakly smiling at him.

Merlin laughed in joy and relief, clutching his friend tighter.

OoOoO

For the next four years, Merlin and Ven trained alongside Terra and Aqua. Ven had been recovering for about a year of it but he was once again his cheerful self, but he still had no memory of his life before.

Merlin filled in the blanks he knew of but the only answer he could give for the reason for his amnesia was 'there was an accident' for he remembered Xehanort's threat.

Eventually, Master Eraqus deemed Terra, Aqua and Merlin ready for the mark of mastery. The last one had shocked all of them, but Xehanort got credit where he deserved it; he was a good teacher, so Merlin was ten and the youngest to take the exam in over a hundred years.

Tonight, was the night before the exam, Merlin and Ven were staring at the stars and watching the meteor shower when Aqua came to join them, proving once again how much of a mom she was by insisted they should have brought blankets.

In a bit, Terra joined them as well.

Aqua stood up "Oh yeah! Terra, Merlin, we have our Mark of Mastery exams tomorrow" she smiled, holding up four star-shaped charms "I made us good luck charms."

The charms were beautiful, each had an individual color. Terra was given the orange one, Aqua kept the blue, Ven got green and Merlin got a stunning silver.

"One for each of us, somewhere out there, there's this tree with star-shaped fruit, and the fruit represents an unbreakable connection. Just like these charms." Ven and Merlin awed while Terra nodded "Anyone want to spar?"

Ven and Merlin jumped up "I can take him!"

Eventually it was Merlin and Ven versus Aqua and Terra.

When the fight was over, they all laughed for a bit before heading back to the castle for some much-deserved sleep.

And that was the last night they spent beneath the same stars.

OoOoO

Morning came much too quickly for Merlin's liking, before he remembered what day it was. He dressed and ran downstairs but stopped in his tracks; Xehanort was sitting in one of the three thrones, stone faced. Merlin felt his heart race in panic. What is Xehanort doing here? He wondered but was answered by Eraqus. Facing his three pupils, Eraqus explained the test and added "And I'm sure our guest, Master Xehanort, did not travel all this way to see our youngest prospects in years fall short of the mark" with an encouraging smile he spoke again "I trust you are ready. Let the examination begin."

Nine balls of light appeared around them, they looked harmless, until Merlin saw Xehanort flick his wrist and the balls turned dark.

One ball flew toward Ven, who was standing in the corner, he blocked it easily "Don't worry about me! You three focus on the exam!" Aqua looked up "But Ven, you're in danger here!"

Ven had a determined expression "No way! I have been waiting for this! For you three to become masters! I won't miss it now!" Terra smiled to Aqua, "He can take care of himself."

Merlin was still worried about what Xehanort could do, "Stay sharp Ven."

They dispatched the balls easily—like, so easily it was almost pitiful—and went on to single combat.

After about ten minutes of facing off against each other it looked like Aqua would win over Terra and Merlin was tying with Aqua. Merlin saw Terra flicker with darkness in his hand, he also saw Xehanort smirk at that. "No…" Merlin breathed quietly to himself, getting a good idea of what Xehanort was planning.

Eventually, the fight ended at a draw and Eraqus turned to face the three students "Terra, Aqua, Merlin. You all performed commendably, however, only Merlin and Aqua have shown the Mark of Mastery" gasp from every student "Terra, you failed to keep the darkness within you sufficiently in check. But there is always next time. That is all."

Merlin, Aqua and Ven all turned to Terra who glared "Sorry, but I need some time alone" and left the room. Ven sighed and ran to his room. Xehanort left as well, leaving Eraqus alone with Merlin and Aqua. He then began to explain what to do if he died and other such thing that bored Merlin out of his mind.

Then the warning bells rang, and Terra came running in "What happened?" Aqua and Merlin shrugged and Eraqus came over

"I have just gotten a call from my old friend Yen Sid, there are entities of darkness called the unversed running amuck and as Keyblade masters it's your job to fight them. Terra, consider this a second chance to change my mind." Terra nodded and ran off. Eraqus turned, "I'm trying to speak quickly because, Merlin, you have a short attention span and I won't even try to deny it. But please, watch him, make sure the darkness doesn't become too much to handle, for I can sense it runs very deep."

"Got it." Merlin said, "Kill the Unversed and keep Terra from becoming evil." He noticed that Ven ran down the stairs and after Terra. Merlin ran after Ven and screamed for Aqua to come, Ven was running after Terra, out of the world and probably into Xehanort's trap.

"Wait Ven!" Aqua called but it was too late. Eraqus looked over at the two new masters,

"You have to bring him back!"

You're really dumping a lot of missions on us that you could just do yourself. Merlin thought but opted to not say it aloud.

They both nodded and activated their armor: Aqua's was various shades of light blue and purple while Merlin's was very much like her's, but the purple was replaced with silver. Both shifted their Keyblades and took off.

When Merlin landed on the first world he gasped, it was so much like Ealdor, from the trees to the grass to the flowers. He suddenly felt a pang of homesickness.

He continued to look around the new world, Enchanted Dominion, with curiosity until he heard what sounded like a woman screaming. Merlin ran towards the source to find a young man and a young woman surrounded by monsters Merlin had never seen before, but once he saw the sigil he put two and two together, the Unversed.

He ran closer to the couple and the young man brandished a sword to help.

The two fought the Unversed, with the woman behind a tree. Merlin felt new power rush to him and was suddenly surrounded by a pink glow, a command style had been activated. He smiled when he realized that he had activated Spell-Weaver.

Gliding around almost like an ice skater, Merlin dispatched the monsters easily.

When the monsters were gone, Merlin turned to the couple "You guys okay?" The man smiled "I'm fine. What about you?" He was saying this to the woman, and Merlin dully wondered why he didn't address her by name.

The young woman, smiled "I'm fine as well Phillip. Thank you for helping us." Merlin grinned

"No problem. I'm Merlin."

She looked around worriedly "Oh no! I'm late for dinner!" Merlin laughed, how relatable that statement was, "I know the feeling, come on, I'll take you home."

The trip to her cottage was mostly uneventful, with occasional Unversed spawning. It was only when they reached the cottage and found a giant Unversed that any real trouble occurred. The Unversed looked almost like a giant dress, and it was terrorizing three middle aged women. Merlin gestured the woman and the three women inside and turned to face the beast.

Many poison puddles, command styles and cures later, the beast was vanquished.

The woman came out of the cottage in a stunning blue dress, clearly meant for royalty. She smiled sadly at him "It turns out I'm the princess Aurora and I'm going to the castle tonight" Merlin smiled back, unsure of why she was so sad. "Cool." at that, she and the three women walked off.

Merlin made his way back to the clearing where he entered the world and was surprised to find Terra having just killed a group of Unversed "Hey Terra!" He greeted, walking over to his friend.

Terra looked up and smiled but it didn't reach his eyes "Hey Merlin, how's being a master?" Merlin could already see where this was going and decided to avoid making it worse, "Not much different from being an apprentice, the only difference is that we're off the Land of Departure. And even then, we went off other world all the time."

Terra nodded and walked off, further into the world, but Merlin had to ask a question "Are you looking for Master Xehanort?" Terra turned and nodded "Why?"

Merlin sighed "Just... take my advice and think twice about what he says, don't take it as fact." Terra seemed thoroughly confused but nodded and walked away.

When Merlin entered the next world, he instantly realized he was tiny. He was about to shout, but he realized nobody normal sized would hear him. Instead, he heard a squeaky voice come from above "Hello!" Merlin saw what looked like a mouse in clothing.

The mouse looked at his Keyblade â€œHey! Are you a friend of Ven Ven?" Merlin raised an eyebrow "Ven Ven? Oh! You must mean Ventus! Yeah, I am his friend. I'm looking for him."

The mouse jumped down from the ledge "Ven Ven just left a few minutes ago." Merlin sighed and opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a young woman coming out from behind the changing screen in the small room. She was pretty, but to a ten-year-old that wasn't uncommon.

She twirled in her pink ball gown "Jaq, how do I look?" The mouse, Jaq, clapped "Cinderelly, you look ready for the ball!" The woman bent down to where Merlin was standing "I see we have a new friend here." She picked him up in her palm "I'm Cinderella, what's your name?"

Merlin smiled "I'm Merlin, I was just looking for my friend Ven, I heard he left a few minutes ago."

Cinderella nodded, and Merlin hopped down "While I'm here, anything you need help with?" Jaq shook his head "No, but I'll give you a tour! Come on now zusk zusk." The mouse gestured to the hole in the wall. Merlin reluctantly followed.

They walked through the tunnels in the wall for a while when a giant, colorful mouse ran past them. "Woah!" Jaq yelped "Did you see that!? We gotta get out of here!" Merlin ran in the direction that the mouse had run moments before "I've got this!"

Merlin found the mouse in a larger area in the wall. He recognized the Unversed emblem instantly and began attacking the thing.

The Unversed was surprisingly easy to deal with and he even learned the command style: Diamond Dust. Merlin walked back up to Cinderella's room to tell Jaq that the danger was gone but couldn't find anyone. He knew he should get going so he wrote Jaq and Cinderella a quick note thanking them for their kindness and that the danger was gone. He smiled and left.

This world was very much like the first one. With thick woods and plentiful woodland animals. Merlin saw a small cottage and walked up to it when he heard multiple people sobbing. He ran into the cottage and was met by a peculiar sight: seven strange men were surrounding a young girl who appeared to be Ven's age, maybe a little younger. She looked to be sleeping.

Merlin walked up to the closest man and tapped his shoulder. The man whirled around and scrutinized him "Hello boy. What are you doing here?"

Oh, I'm looking for a friend of mine. He's blonde, a bit taller than me, black and white jacket and a green armor plate."

Another man joined him "You must mean Ventus. Sweet thing, we thought he was a thief when we met him. But he must have meant no harm, because he brought dear Snow White to us." He gestured to the girl on the floor "Too bad we sent him away, he could have protected her." Merlin looked down to her,

"What happened?"

Another man spoke up "The wicked Queen was so jealous of Snow White's beauty." He picked up an apple "So she tricked her into eating a poisoned apple."

Merlin gasped. Why would someone do that? This queen must be full of darkness. He looked down to the men "So she's dead?"

"No, she's just sleeping." One dwarf said.

"Oh, come on guys, she's freaking dead, alright, she died of poison." He looked to the girl and checked her pulse, only to find one there, "Wow. Not that I want this girl dead, but that is a rather incompetent poison. Anyway, where is the Queen now?"

A fourth man came over "We saw her run towards the dark mountains."

"I'll go, she needs to be stopped." Merlin said.

All the men came together. "We're coming with you."

Merlin nodded then looked at Snow White, "Shouldn't we move her?" The second man turned to the first "How are we gonna do that Doc? We can't carry her."

The first man, Doc, looked up to Merlin "Boy, can you get her upstairs to our beds?"

"My name's Merlin. Sure, I'll get her upstairs."

He carefully picked her up and gently placed her in the bed. He turned to the men "Can we go now?"

A fifth man punched his fists in the air "Let's go!" Than he sneezed.

OoOoO

It didn't take long to find this queen, well, it didn't take long to find the old hag the queen was disguised as.

"Hey!"

The woman turned "Oh dearie, can you help an old grannie. I don't have much to pay you but in apples." She handed him an apple.

Merlin raised a suspicious eyebrow and looked to the dwarves "Is this her?"

The dwarves nodded so Merlin summoned his Keyblade. The old woman took a step back before cackling manically and turning into a somewhat pretty, middle aged woman.

The woman laughed "What are you going to do boy? Now that Snow White is dead, I am once again the fairest of them all!"

Merlin laughed. Never had he heard such bullshit. "Bull! I've met dozens, men and women alike, that are fairer than you, today."

The Queen screeched "Never!"

The dwarves laughed "The boy standing in front of you is fairer."

The laughter died when the queen sent a fireball at Merlin who effortlessly deflected it. "Really? Fireballs?" Merlin facepalmed, were all sorcerers like this? "Be original!"

The queen narrowed her eyes "Challenge accepted."

Then it began to rain.

Merlin laughed, "That's more like it!" He shouted whilst quickly dismissing the rain before and lightening could start. He brushed his mop of raven black hair out of his eyes.

The queen smirked, "Would you fight back already? This is getting boring."

"You're right," Merlin agreed and looked thoughtful for a second.

"And remember, be original!" She encouraged.

Merlin smiled and then conjured all the vultures in the nearby area, which attached the queen, causing her to back up until she fell off the cliff, followed by a very heavy boulder.

"I'll be honest," Merlin commented, "I wasn't expecting that. I really need to practice with this power now that I'm a Keyblade Master."

"Thank you for avenging Snow White." Doc thanked, "We are indebted to you."

Merlin smiled sadly "I do hope it all turns out in the end."

The new world was foreign to Merlin, it was a city. He had heard of the city of Radiant Garden, but he never thought he would see it in person.

He walked around for a bit before hearing a voice that made his blood freeze. "What do we have here?"

Crap. Vanitas.

Merlin turned "Long time Vanitas. Still too soon."

Vanitas laughed, not a sane one, more a 'fucking finally' laugh, "It is you! Little Merlin Emrys. You've grown, yet you're still a scrawny thing." Merlin glared "I hate you."

He could tell Vanitas smirked under the mask. "You don't hate me. Do you hate Ventus?" Merlin walked up to him,

"Don't mention his name. You and Ven are not the same. He's an amazing human being and you make me want to scream! And you're wreaking havoc on all these worlds chock full of innocents!"

"Are we going to fight or not?"

Merlin glared before summoning a tornado "Do you have your answer?"

The two fought. Merlin knew that challenging Vanitas had been a bad idea seeing as he had all Ven's old dandelion abilities and then some, but he managed to win through the power of invincibility while using shotlocks.

Vanitas was on the ground. Merlin walked over to him and raised his Keyblade to finish the job when Vanitas laughed and fell through the ground using a dark corridor.

Merlin glared at where Vanitas had been moments before "I really don't like you Vanitas. Your attacks hurt like hell and your counter's a dick."

He groaned and began wandering around.

OoOoO

After a bit, Merlin encountered a large, robotic looking Unversed and proceeded to chase after it. He followed the Unversed to a platform in what looked like the waterworks. Merlin looked behind him and saw Terra, Aqua and Ven chasing various pieces of the thing as well.

Well then. This isn't going to be fun. Merlin thought to himself as he and the other three attacked the monster.

With the power of teamwork, he monster was vanquished. To finish it off: Terra and Aqua bisected it one way with Merlin and Ven bisecting it the other.

Aqua cheered "We make a good team!"

"Sure do." Ven agreed, "Oh yeah! I got you guys these tickets!" He passed out three multi colored tickets.

"What are they for?" Terra asked.

Merlin nodded his agreement with the oldest in their group, "Yeah, what are they for?"

Ven beamed "Lifetime passes to Disney Town. He said... he said to take my family."

Merlin felt touched by being considered Ven's family.

Unfortunately, Aqua killed the happy mood.

"Ven, you need to go home."

Ven shook his head "No way! Trust me, that guy in the mask in history. He'll never badmouth Terra again."

Both Terra and Merlin gasped "You saw the guy in the mask?!"

Ven looked nervous and confused "Ye...Yes."

"Vanitas." Merlin breathed, earning a confused look from Aqua and a shocked look from Terra.

"Merlin, how do you know that name?"

Merlin paused, here it was, moment of demon truth, "Because I was there when Vanitas was made."

The three older Keyblade wielders gaped. Terra glared "You knew. You knew all along that Vanitas was made when Ven fell to darkness and you didn't tell us!"

Aqua and Ven gasped "What?!"

"Who told you Ven fell to darkness?" Merlin asked, suspecting exactly who, so it was more rhetorical than anything, "Because that isn't what happened. Xehanort did that because he wanted something called the X-blade and Ven refused to fall to darkness." Terra strode foreword, making Merlin back up. He never thought he would be afraid of Terra, but here he was, backing away in fear. He knew if Terra hurt him, he could send him flying away with telekinesis, but the thought of needing to do that just hurt.

"You're lying!" Terra yelled, "You're just trying to cover up the truth. If it's true, why didn't you tell us?"

Merlin looked at Terra like he was so stupid it hurt—which it did, "Oh gee Terra, why wouldn't I tell you of an evil mastermind and his nefarious scheme? I don't know, maybe he threatened all your lives if I said a word. I'm risking your lives giving you this information."

Aqua gasped and Ven put a hand over his mouth. They were clearly persuaded to see reason. Terra continued to be stupid, and wasn't, "Then why are you telling us?"

"You idiot!" Merlin exploded, genuinely losing his temper for the first time in years, "First you lecture me for not telling you, now you lecture me for telling you. Make up your damn mind! Now I see why Eraqus is having Aqua watch you!" He then threw a hand over his mouth as he realized what he just said. But the cat was out of the bag and running around the floor, and it was a slippery bastard, so there was no putting it back in.

Terra turned his glare to Aqua, "Is it true?"

Aqua nodded sadly "He just wants to help."

Terra glared at them all "Goodbye."

Ven started following "I'll go with you."

"Just stay put!" Terra yelled, enraged, "I'm on my own now!"

Terra left, leaving Merlin with Aqua and Ven.

Aqua looked at Merlin "Xehanort's doing something to Terra, isn't he?"

"He's feeding the dark fires within Terra, making him fight. For what reason? I have not the slightest idea."

Aqua sighed and looked to Ven "You still need to go home. If Vanitas really had it out for you..." Ven turned away from them "I'm gonna go find Terra." He ran off and Merlin began to follow, looking back at Aqua, before running from sight.

OoOoO

He caught up with Ven very quickly after that, "Ven!"

Ven turned and smiled warmly at Merlin, "Hey."

Merlin sighed "I'm gonna help you look for Terra." Ven looked like he was about to cry, "What's wrong Ven?"

Ven sat down on a pipe, "The reason I left home was because Vanitas told me that if I didn't find Terra fast, he'd be a different person. He's right. This isn't the Terra I know."

Merlin sat down with him, "It'll be alright. We'll find him. Being the angsty teen he is, he's probably just having his monthlies or something stupid like that. Something I can taunt him with later."

Ven cracked a smile "Why do you always know what to say to make me feel better?"

"Because I've known you longer than you have."

The two friends laughed and continued to the center square where they saw a young boy surrounded by Unversed. Merlin and Ven nodded to each other and tag-teamed taking out the monsters. Both learned the command style Blade-charge.

Merlin turned and helped the boy up when they heard a voice call "Ienzo!? Ienzo answer me!" A man with shoulder length blonde hair came forward and took the boy by the hand, "Thank you for protecting Ienzo for us. We try our best to take care of him since his parents aren't here to do it."

Ven smiled lightly "You're in your own too?"

Ienzo remained silent while Ven spoke "We're looked for someone. He's a tall guy, dressed kind of like me."

The man thought for a moment, "I think I saw someone of that description in the outer gardens."

"Thanks!"

"I have a feeling we are destined to meet again."

Merlin shrugged, slightly uneasy at how pre-determined that sounded, "Okay... still, thanks!"

He and Ven ran off.

OoOoO

They found Terra walking out of some sort of tunnel, "Terra!" Ven called and smiled brightly "Take us with you."

Terra sighed, "I can't do that." He looked away from Ven, likely to avoid the puppy dog eyes that were almost certain to come. Nobody except Merlin could resist them.

Ven looked put out, "Why not?"

"I need to do this myself," he glared at Merlin, "And I don't like to be in the company of liars. But Ven, I know when I need you, you'll be there."

Ven shrugged "Why wouldn't I? You're my friend."

Terra smiled lightly before he activated his armor and left.

"He hates me. I'm betting he went to Xehanort and got fed another lie." Merlin said, sighing. Ven ruffled Merlin's mop of hair "Relax Merlin. He's just on his monthlies or something you can taunt him about later."

The two boys laughed before going back to the main square.

OoOoO

In the main square, they found Aqua. She looked as though she was about to leave, "Aqua!" Ven called and the blue-haired woman stopped,

"Did you guys find him?"

Ven sighed, "Yeah. But... he's gone."

Aqua looked away, "Right."

Ven smiled "Let me go with you Aqua."

"No Ven." She turned to Merlin, "Merlin, take him home."

Merlin looked down, not wanting to meet her eyes, "I can't do that, Aqua."

"Why not?"

"Vanitas is going to find and attack Ven whether he's ready or not. I'd rather he not be the one dead."

Aqua glared "You may know more about Vanitas. But Master Eraqus will protect him. Ven needs to go home. I'm just doing what's best."

Merlin shook his head, "So am I. He needs to be ready."

Aqua huffed before looking away, "We'll see whose right! But do what I say Ven."

Aqua left as well, leaving the boys alone. Though why she didn't make sure Ven got home instead of disappearing again was a mystery—not like Terra would take well to being followed.

Ven looked at Merlin, "You mean you'll let me go with you?!"

"You need to be ready." He said simply, trying to hide the regret in his tone.

Ven beamed "Thanks! Let's go!"

 **A/N: I didn't have them meet Lea and Isa because Ven had a friend to go with, so he wouldn't have just sat down sulking.**

The new world was so colorful it made Merlin's eyes hurt.

He looked to Ven, who looked back.

They heard a voice "The fearless defender and hero of this town, it is me: Captain Justice!" They saw a cat-like-thing(?) in a strange pose before it walked up to them, "Do my hero senses detect trouble? Just say the word and Captain Justice will make all your problems disappear."

Merlin backed up and rolled his eyes "One: why are you referring to yourself in the third person? Two: Stranger danger."

Ven rolled his eyes as well, laughing lightly "Tell us about your town. Is it always this festive?"

'Captain Justice' looked confused "That's it? Alrighty then, the festivities are for the dream festival. There, all saved, remember to vote Captain Justice. Justice with a J."

"I can spell, condescending jerk," Merlin muttered quietly. The dream festival sounded interesting at least, "What's the dream festival?"

'Captain Justice' began walking away "You'll just have to see for yourself. Wouldn't be much of a dream if I just told you." He looked away from them "Trouble?! Captain Justice is on the way!"

Merlin and Ven looked at each other before following the cat creature to three ducks and a mouse, talking "The thing's busted."

Merlin walked up to them, "Can we help?"

'Captain Justice,' now known to be Pete because he had heard the mouse mention it, shook his head "Captain Justice's got this."

Merlin groaned about the creature continuing to talk in the third person, causing the ducks to look up to Merlin and Ven, "Sure, better you guys than him. Get out of here Pete." Pete glared and ran off.

The duck wearing red handed a fat book to Ven, "Here's the instruction manual."

Merlin flipped through the pages with Ven. Ven looked to the machine and pulled on a lever "Merlin, the thing's jammed. Can you use your magic?"

Merlin's eyes flashed gold and the lever jerked down, creating an ice cream of some sort. The ducks and mouse beamed "Thank you... um?"

"Ventus, Ven for short. That's Merlin."

"Well then, thank you Ventus and Merlin. I'm Queen Minnie and those are Huey, Dewey and Louie."

Merlin waved sheepishly, unsure of what to make of the situation, "What did that Pete guy mean by vote?"

Minnie started pacing "It's one of the dream festival events. Each person votes for who they think is the most exemplary citizen."

"Yeah!" Louie began jumping up and down, "And you get a really cool prize!"

Minnie shook her head "It's just a small token."

Dewey looked to his brothers "Pete just wants to get his grubby hands on the prize."

"And he knows that nobody's gonna vote for him if he puts his own name on the ballot."

"But nobody's fooled."

"Yeah!" They all collapsed in peals of laughter while Ven smiled, "Wish somebody was looking out for me."

Merlin tapped Ven's shoulder and pointed to himself, "Why do you think I'm not taking you home?"

"You're also ten years old, while I should technically be allowed to drive."

"That's fair."

Minnie spoke again, "It's time for the results, everyone to the stage."

Merlin looked to Ven, who shrugged, so they followed.

OoOoO

The ceremony was fairly quiet. Minnie came up to the stage and beamed, "This year we have multiple winners. Merlin, Ventus, Aqua and Terra. All four of you!"

Ven looked shocked "When were Terra and Aqua here?"

He was shoved to the side by Pete "What do you mean?! Everybody voted for Captain Justice! I made sure!"

Merlin decided to tune him out and spaced out—because most ten-year olds don't have that long of an attention span—until Ven tapped his shoulder and he went on the stage. He noticed that Pete had changed attire and was being carried away by walking brooms. _Don't see that every day._

Minnie sighed "Oh dear. It seems two of our winners couldn't be here today. Perhaps you can take the award for them."

She handed them a thing of ice cream.

Both he and Ven grabbed a spoon and tried the ice cream. He and Ven both broke out wide grins "It's amazing!" Both boys looked at one another and laughed at how in synch they were. They thanked all the citizens and left soon after that.

 **A/N: They did go to Olympus Coliseum and Deep Space, but those weren't changed in the slightest other than Merlin having a few lines; so, I skipped them.**

"TinkerBell!"

"Maybe we should try kicking it?"

That got Merlin and Ven's attention. They both sat up and were met with a peculiar sight:

The new world was a jungle and they were surrounded by two kids in animal costumes and a small pixie of some sort.

They stood up, looked to each other and laughed. Yes, a nap had definitely been a good idea.

The two boys smiled "Who are you?"

"I'm Ventus, everybody calls me Ven. That's Merlin."

The boys nodded "Later guys!" and began walking away.

Merlin raised an eyebrow, _rude_ , "Where are you going?"

The skinnier of the two boys spoke "Tink saw a shooting star! We're gonna go look for it."

Ven beamed "Cool! Can I come along?"

The boys nodded "But you've gotta follow us."

Merlin shook his head frantically "Let's not."

"Oh, come on Merlin, it'll be fun."

Merlin sighed "Alright Ven, but I've got a _bad_ feeling about this." **(Challenge to readers, guess the pop-culture reference in that line)**

OoOoO

They made it to a clearing with a weird tree in the center when they heard a fake rooster crow. "Peter Pan!" Both the boys cheered.

A boy literally flew down from the sky "Guess who saw Hook stow away his treasure? Let's go in and grab it!"

The boys cheered again.

Merlin whispered to Ven, "Let's go, this guy looks like he's gonna hurt us."

Ven rolled his eyes "Stop being a pessimist Merlin."

"I'm not the one to whom the literal destructive anthesis of humanity wants dead."

Peter Pan looked over to them "Haven't seen you around before. Wanna come along?"

Ven shook his head "Merlin and I are gonna go look for that shooting star."

Peter raised an eyebrow "Who cares about that? Pirate treasure is way more fun. Oh well, have fun with that."

Peter flew away and the boys followed.

"Ok then..." Merlin looked to Ven "Let's go." A giant Unversed gorilla spawned and threw a rock at them. "Quickly."

OoOoO

They made it to the Indian Camp not long after that, TinkerBell in tow, and saw a weird blue and green contraption.

Ven raised an eyebrow "Mickey's star shard?"

They heard a voice "A shooting star and a pixie, must be me birthday."

Merlin looked and saw a guy he assumed was Captain Hook—because of hook for hand—wearing a weird hat. Holding both TinkerBell and the star shard. He looked up to Ven "I know this is irrelevant, but how is he holding the star shard with his hook?"

Ven shrugged and ran up to the pirate "Let TinkerBell go!"

Hook scoffed "Some of Peter Pan's brats. Well tell that cowardly sparrow that if he wants his precious pixie back, to meet me at Mermaid Lagoon." He ran off.

"Hey, Wait!" Merlin called after him.

Peter landed a moment later and Ven looked to the ginger, "TinkerBell's been pixie-napped!" Peter kicked the dirt "That Old codfish! Come on guys! Let's go!"

Merlin frowned "I'll bet it's a trap."

Ven frowned "It's likely, but we might as well, we need that star shard."

"Why do we need it?"

"It belongs to a friend of mine who saved me from Vanitas." Ven answered with a sheepish smile. So, he hadn't smacked-down Vanitas on his own before. Yet another thing to use a blackmail to get out of the dishes.

Merlin frowned as Peter flew away while they could only run "Not fair!"

OoOoO

They made it to a small cove not long after that. Merlin and Ven were panting from their run while Peter just stood there.

Peter looked up "Tink!"

TinkerBell flew down and began jingling about, Peter seemed to know what she was saying but Merlin couldn't make it out.

TinkerBell flew over and sprinkled a weird dust on both him and Ven.

Ven looked at Peter "What was that?"

"Pixie dust. Bet you feel lighter now."

Ven looked at Merlin "I do, but he probably doesn't. I swear, you're lighter than a chicken, and their bones are hollow."

Peter laughed at the oddness of these two foreigners, "You guys look for Captain Hook and I'll handle the cannons."

"Can you find Hook with your magic? I don't want to aimlessly wander around." Ven said.

Merlin channeled his instinctual power and immediately found his target "He's in Mermaid Lagoon, like he said."

OoOoO

They found Hook talking to himself. He seemed to be rambling on about them being dead. Merlin laughed "Your cannons don't know how to aim! We aren't dead!"

Hook jumped and turned to face them "How! No, it can't be." He pulled out his telescope and turned in the direction of his ship "Blast that Peter Pan!"

He jumped into the center island an impossible distance away.

"Holy jumping power!" Merlin yelped, "He doesn't even have glide! How?!"

Ven shrugged and glided over while Hook panicked about a crocodile "No! Get away from me." Merlin rolled his eyes, landing, already preparing to shove that guy in the direction of the crocodile, "I don't think so!"

Hook attacked them, but it was easily blocked. Their tactic was that Hook would attack one while the other shoved him in the water where the crocodile would attack. It was working pretty well...

Eventually, Hook fell into the water and stayed in the water. The crocodile chased him, and the pirate managed to run on water "Help me! Smee!"

Merlin and Ven laughed, "How is he running on water?" Merlin asked, crossing his arms, "I tried that once without success and I have magic!"

Ven shrugged "Don't know."

Peter and the two kids from before came up behind them "Good work! Now, let's see the treasure."

The boy in the bear costume spoke "Uh Pan, we losted all the treasure." _That grammar though._

Fox costume added on "But we think we should put the stuff that's important to us in it."

Peter beamed "Good idea! Instead of jewels, doubloons and stuff, we'll put our real treasures in it."

The kids put in a bunch of toys. Peter turned to Merlin and Ven "What about you guys?"

Merlin shrugged "I don't have anything, you Ven?"

Ven pulled out the wooden Keyblade Terra gave him as a gift, three years prior.

Merlin gaped " _Where_ have you been keeping that?!" Ven shrugged, not answering the question, which made Merlin want to know even more. Did he have magic pockets? "As you know Merlin. A very good friend gave this to me."

"You sure you want to part with something that special?" Fox kid asked.

Ven looked down at Merlin "Yup! I don't need it if I got Terra, Aqua and Merlin." He put the wooden Keyblade in the chest.

TinkerBell flew to the chest to put the star shard in, but Ven stopped her "That belongs to another friend of mine. Can I hold onto it?"

TinkerBell shook her head "TinkerBell..." Peter chastised. TinkerBell sighed and handed the star shard to Ven.

Merlin stroked the beautiful contraption when it flashed, sending both Ven and Merlin out of the world... only in two separate directions.

Merlin crash landed on an island of some sort. He looked and saw that it was sunset, beautiful on the horizon.

"Merlin? What are you doing here?"

Merlin whirled around and saw Aqua talking to two boys.

"I don't know. Ven and I touched something called a star shard and I'm here and he's... I don't know where he is."

Aqua sighed but soon perked up "Merlin, meet Sora and Riku." She gestured to the two boys. The first one, Sora, had spiky brown hair and was slightly shorter than his companion, who had white hair—a peculiar color on someone so young.

Merlin bent down beside the two boys "All this time you've been a mother. Theory confirmed. Hold it, is Terra the father? Because Ven owed me a hundred gold if so."

Aqua punched his shoulder "No silly. They aren't even mine." The two boys were laughing at the conversation between the two older people, having no idea of the more mature implications.

Merlin looked at the boys "How do you two know each other?"

Sora beamed, pointing to Riku, "He's my best friend!"

Merlin smiled, remembering his own childlike innocence from so long ago "Good. So, say, something happens and Riku is about to get lost, I want you to be there and help him. Same for you Riku, be there for your friend through thick and thin. You will be unbeatable."

Sora hugged Riku "Okay! That won't be a problem, I'll be with Riku all the time."

"Good." Aqua said with a smile.

The two boys ran off and Aqua turned to Merlin "I'm sorry for shouting at you. You know Vanitas better than I do, I let my mastery go to my head."

Merlin shrugged "No problem. Ven's gotten a lot stronger, I think he'd be ready."

Aqua took Merlin's hand "Good. I want to show you something."

She guided him to a tree, curved enough they could sit on; thought that wasn't what interested the young warlock,

"It's the tree with star shaped fruit!"

Aqua helped him onto the tree—he was still ten and therefore too short to hop on himself—and hopped up herself "Yup. Do you remember what it represents?"

Merlin smiled "An unbreakable connection."

Aqua pulled out her wayfinder and Merlin followed suit.

"Merlin?"

"Hm?"

"I hope we're ready for the storm that's coming."

Merlin sighed, looking at the sunset "I do too Aqua. I do too."

Merlin and Aqua decided to stick together and were flying through the lanes between when they say something floating in the way. They stopped and Aqua scooped a rather large mouse—like a male version of Queen Minnie—into her arms. He was unconscious. After a moment, the mouse spoke "Master Yen... Sid."

Aqua clutched him tighter "We'll take you too him."

They found Master Yen Sid on the world Mysterious Tower; where a duck called Donald and a dog-like-thing called Goofy, frantically took the mouse from them and placed him on the floor "King Mickey!"

Yen Sid turned to Aqua and Merlin "Aqua, Emrys, I have grave news: Master Eraqus has been struck down."

Merlin didn't even have time to wonder why Yen Sid used the name Vanitas used for him, before comprehending what that meant. Eraqus was dead. Oh god, he told Terra, Aqua and Ven the truth regardless of the death threat! He completely forgot his master was a part it. Aqua gasped,

"The Master?! Who... who is responsible?"

Yen Sid looked out the window "Master Xehanort... and Terra."

Merlin gasped and covered his mouth with his hands. Aqua slammed her fists against the table "No! That's absurd! Terra would never!"

Yen Sid turned to them "I hope with all my heart you are right about your friend. But there are some things even the stars cannot tell me."

"Where is he? Where can we find Terra?" Aqua demanded, clutching a hand to her chest.

"Terra's heart is leading him to the ancient Keyblade Graveyard, where wielders of those weapons once waged war."

Merlin bit his lip to hold back the tears and stormed out of the room, followed quickly by Aqua.

"Merlin, wait!"

Merlin rounded on her "It's my fault! I knew about the death threat if I told you the truth about Vanitas, but I still told you..."

Aqua put her hands on his shoulders "You did the right thing Merlin. This is not your fault. Now let's go talk to Terra."

Merlin nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes "Let's go."

Aqua looked down at her wayfinder "Terra, Ven. Please be safe."

The Keyblade Graveyard was the same as Merlin remembered: dull and lifeless.

He looked to Aqua "Let us hope the bond of friendship will get us through this." Aqua nodded and they continued their journey.

After getting past some tornadoes, they made it to the battlefield area and found Terra standing in the center.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Aqua spoke "I was told... the Master was struck down."

Terra tensed "Yes. That's right. I was stupid and help Xehanort do it." Merlin gaped when Terra continued "The Master... he tried to hurt Ven. I only fought because I wanted to protect him. But it was all a trick! Xehanort set the whole thing up... all so he could awaken the darkness inside me. You were right Aqua, and so was the Master. I went astray, but no more. Merlin, I am so sorry for not believing you."

Merlin nodded his forgiveness, and looked down when Aqua spoke up "What else is darkness... but hate and rage? Xehanort is feeding the dark fires within you, making you fight. Tell me, how does that honor our master's memory Terra?"

Terra was saved from answering that by the arrival of Ventus "Xehanort wants Vanitas and I to fight, make some kind of X-Blade."

Aqua raised an eyebrow "X-Blade? Merlin, do you know what that is?"

"He mentioned it, but never in detail." Lie. While Xehanort had rarely mentioned it, Ven himself had mentioned it being the cause of the Keyblade War and the key to Kingdom Hearts. But he didn't want them to know anything more than what they needed to. And Ven had even given him an idea how to make it. Such knowledge would be too deadly, the less people to know, the better.

Ventus continued "I don't know what isn't either. But it scares me to death, even... just the thought of it."

Terra put a hand on Ven's shoulder "Relax Ven, we're here for you. And we're going to be okay."

Ven looked down "I may have to fight Vanitas after all and if I do... Merlin I want you to go back to your home world."

Merlin gasped but nodded; though Terra shook his head "The four of us can never be torn apart, I'll always find a way."

Aqua bent down and put a hand on Ven's cheek, but Ven removed both Aqua and Terra's hands "I'm asking you... as a friend... just... put an end to me."

Merlin, Terra and Aqua gasped in horror but couldn't respond before Xehanort showed up. They all glared as Vanitas appeared as well.

Xehanort spoke "Behold. These lifeless keys used to be full of power. United with the hearts of their masters. On this barren soil, Keyblades of light and darkness were locked in combat. As a great Keyblade War raged! Countless Keyblade wielders gave up their lives... all in search of one ultimate key. And it will soon belong to me..." he pointed at Ven "X-Blade!"

Merlin looked to the other three, who nodded and simultaneously summoned they armor.

Ven tried to charge, but Terra stopped him and ran at Xehanort, who literally raised a mountain, launching Terra into the sky.

Vanitas was somehow riding a cyclone of Keyblades and sent Terra into the air and sent Aqua flying.

Ven and Merlin bent down by Aqua's side "Aqua!"

Aqua whirled around, without her helmet, and sent a beam of light into the air "Terra!" Merlin saw Terra shielded from the oncoming cyclone of Keyblades. He was launched onto the platform with Xehanort.

Merlin looked to Ven "Help Terra out. I'll stay here with Aqua." Ven nodded and ran off.

Merlin looked down at Aqua, struggling to stand "Heal!" Her wounds vanished.

They heard a yelp and looked up to see Xehanort grabbing a struggling Ven by the back of the head. "Ven!" Both called. They saw Ven look at them in alarm before Xehanort froze him solid and dropped him off the cliff.

Merlin lunged and just barely saved Ven from shattering into pieces. He looked down and was startled but relieved by that fact Ven wasn't dead. Aqua ran over "Ven! Are you okay?!"

They heard Xehanort laugh and a brilliant blue light came from above. They looked and saw a heart shaped moon.

"Kingdom Hearts..." Merlin breathed and Aqua looked to him

"Give Ven to me. Go check on Terra. He's fighting Xehanort _and_ Vanitas."

Merlin obeyed and flew up to Terra.

Sure enough, Terra was fighting both Xehanort and Vanitas. Merlin landed next to Terra "Need help?"

Terra laughed in relief "Yeah. That counter of Vanitas' sucks big time, that's for sure."

Merlin and Terra fought back to back until Terra lunged and Xehanort blocked it. The old man turned to Vanitas, "Go take what Ventus owes you. And take Aqua's life!" Vanitas nodded and dove off the cliff.

Terra and Merlin ran to intercept him but Xehanort teleported in front of Terra. Merlin kept running "I've got this Terra!" He jumped off the cliff as well.

Merlin caught up to Vanitas quickly. The masked boy laughed "You think you can beat me?"

"Sure. Why not?"

The two bounced off the ledges to keep attacking each other and it seemed like Merlin would win... until Vanitas pinned him against the cliff wall as they fell "Goodbye, Little Emrys." He pressed Merlin's skull into the cliff face and the young warlock screamed in agony before vaguely comprehending being thrown in another direction.

He didn't remember hitting the ground.

OoOoO

"Heal!"

Merlin woke up slowly and noticed the world spinning. He let his vision clear and noticed the mouse, Mickey, staring down at him, Keyblade in hand. Mickey beamed "That goodness, I thought I was too late."

Merlin tried to raise an eyebrow before he realized he had a horrible headache "What... happened?" He eventually slurred out, needing to remember how to talk.

Mickey shrugged "I found you covered in blood. I couldn't tell if you were breathing or not."

Merlin slowly stood up and leaned on the cliff when the world decided to continue spinning. His vision cleared, and he saw Aqua unconscious on the ground and Ven... just standing in the middle of a platform, he seemed fine.

Merlin looked up in alarm to where Terra was currently fighting "Go make sure Aqua and Ven are alright! I'll be right back!"

He flew up to where Terra was and was horrified to see Xehanort gone, but Terra's hair was white, and his armor was in a pile on the ground. Merlin instantly knew what happened. And now he understood why Xehanort had been trying to turn him to the darkness.

He sank into the depths of his instinctual magic and pointed a hand at the armor.

The armor—shockingly—began putting itself together and a barrier of golden chains surrounded the area. Merlin hoped it was enough so Terra could get his body back, and flew back down to the ground where Mickey was trying to revive Aqua.

Merlin bent down beside her and shook her "Hey, Aqua. Wake up!"

She didn't respond for a moment until they both heard Ven's voice, as if in their minds _"I'm asking you, as a friend, just… Put an end to me..."_

Aqua shot awake and Merlin sighed in relief "You're okay!"

Aqua turned to Merlin "You're not! You're covered in blood! Are you alright?!"

"Vanitas got the jump on me. I'm fine now, Mickey healed me." Mickey waved. Aqua nodded her thanks before looking around "Ven?!"

Merlin pointed to where Ven appeared to just be chilling out. Aqua beamed "Oh thank goodness. Ven..." she got up and ran to him "You're safe!"

Merlin walked over but got into a defensive position when he noticed what Ven was holding: The X-Blade.

Aqua paused "Ven?"

Ven suddenly opened his eyes and smirked, aiming the X-Blade with the intention to stab Aqua. Merlin leapt to her defense and just barely blocked the attack. He ignored the dizziness and stood protectively in front of his friend "That's not Ven!" He then noticed Ven's eyes were gold, not magic gold, Xehanort gold—it was subtle, but there _was_ a difference.

Ven's attire charged to that of Vanitas "Correct. I am not Ventus. His heart has become a part of mine now."

Aqua gasped and Merlin snarled. Venitas then began to ramble on about the Keyblade War and if the situation weren't so dire, Merlin would have likely made a witty comeback, but this was not the time.

Aqua interrupted the rambling "Shut up! I'm sick of all your nonsense! Give Ven is heart back!" They fought him. It was overly difficult, and Merlin wondered how Venitas was able to hold a blade larger than he was tall, but the thought was put out of his mind when he and Aqua were chucked into a boulder by a powerful gust of wind.

 _Ow._ Merlin thought to himself, _I flew farther because I'm lighter... I knew I should have eaten more jelly donuts._ **(Challenge, which youtuber said that while playing this game.)**

Venitas walked up to them "What's wrong? Giving up already?" His smirk made Merlin's blood boil.

He saw Aqua look down at her wayfinder "Terra... Ven... lend us strength." There was a spark from both her and Merlin's wayfinders and they began to glow. They looked at one another before charging Venitas who laughed "You're just wasting your energy." The blades connected. It seemed like Venitas was stronger but both Merlin and Aqua put everything they had into it. The blade cracked.

"What?!" Venitas gaped before getting launched backwards by the X-Blade as it floated above them.

Mickey jumped "Oh no! It's gone all haywire!"

Merlin looked and saw Ven's clothing return to normal "Ven!" He dove under the deadly streams of light coming from the X-Blade and grabbed hold of Ven, right before the blade exploded and sent them flying. Aqua flew after them and Merlin just barely grabbed her hand and conjured a protective barrier before he lost consciousness.

Merlin woke up to someone shaking him. He opened his eyes to see Aqua looking down at him. He sat up and the room once again began to spin, "What happened, the last thing I remember is—Ven!"

Aqua looked over to the wall and Merlin looked as well; Ven was sat on the wall with his head down, he seemed to be asleep.

He crawled over and shook his friend "Ven?" No response. Aqua shook him as well "Ventus!" Yen Sid walked over "The boy's heart is sleeping."

Aqua looked up "When will he wake?"

"I could not say. It is almost as though his heart has left. Should it return, he may very well wake. Should it not, and he will sleep like this for all eternity."

Merlin gasped "No!"

Aqua looked back at Ven "I'll keep him safe. Until he wakes. Forever if I have too."

Yen Sid walked away from them "I will tell you what your friend needs right now, and it is not your protection. He needs you to believe. You see, Ventus' heart hangs in the balance. It sleep in a place between light and darkness. For all I can perceive, that means he will be looking for a friend, one who believes in him, to show him the way home. Just as long as you love him, then Ventus will be able to find you when he wakes. He can follow that love back to where he belongs: the realm of light."

Mickey smiled "Oh. Don't you worry guys, I believe in Ven too. Gosh, he's been as good a friend to me as anyone. And if you and I believe in him with all our hearts, he'll have three lights to follow, instead of two."

"Four lights." Aqua informed, "Terra."

Merlin looked away, thinking about what happened, "But... Terra's gone. Maybe for good." Aqua shook her head "I think... I know how to find him." She looked down at her wayfinder.

"Alright." Merlin agreed, "Let's take Ven somewhere safe first." Aqua nodded and held Ven piggyback and walked out the door.

When they were outside, they looked to each other "So... where shall we take him?"

Ven's hand began to raise and both Merlin and Aqua gasped as he summoned his Keyblade to create a portal. His hand went back down.

Aqua let out a sigh of relief "Alright, if that's where you want to go."

They walked into the portal.

They found themselves in the Land of Departure. Only the place was a complete ruin "What happened here?" Merlin asked, scanning the desolate landscape for any sign of life.

Aqua looked down and gasped. Merlin followed her gaze and was horrified to see Master Eraqus' Keyblade on the ground.

Aqua picked it up and began walking into the ruined building.

While walking through, Merlin had flashbacks of when Eraqus told them what to do in the event something happened to him. By the look on his companion's face, Aqua was thinking the same.

She sat Ven on the center throne and held out the Keyblade to Merlin who took it in one hand and she in the other.

They forced the Keyblade into the world's keyhole and there was a blinding light. When the light faded, the room was pure white with a singular throne in the center.

Aqua bent down beside Ven's body "I know it's a lonely place, but it's safe. We'll bring Terra back to wake you up before you know it." She walked over to Merlin and the two left, the name Castle Oblivion appearing in their heads.

They stood outside the castle when they heard Terra's voice _"Aqua, Merlin, put an end to me."_ Aqua looked into the distance "Terra... where are you?"

They flew through the lanes between for a bit before they discovered a tremendous amount of darkness in Radiant Garden. "Well," Merlin announced, "If we'll find Xehanort anywhere, it's here; and Terra will likely be with him, trying to kill him."

They landed and were about to walk into the main square when Aqua stopped him "Merlin, you're still weak from blood loss, I'll fight."

Merlin shook his head "I'm not helpless!"

Aqua sighed "Just... keep a barrier up in case a fight breaks out, I don't want anyone getting hurt."

"Fine. But if it looks like you need help, I'm going in."

Aqua nodded and they immediately saw Terra, only he still... he was still possessed by Xehanort.

Aqua ran over to him and they were talking so quietly Merlin couldn't hear, them Terra grabbed her throat and held her above him, covered in a dark aura. "Aqua!"

"No, stay back!" Aqua yelled, albeit weakly. She continued to talk to Terranort before he let her go and attacked. Aqua jumped back "My name: is Master Aqua. Now return my friend's heart or pay the price! Now Merlin, shield!"

Merlin obeyed and watched the two fight. But for every time the hit his shield, Merlin grew weaker. He was on his knees when the fight ended, barely staying conscious.

He saw that Terra was beginning to glow with light and almost laughed in relief before Terranort stabbed himself and fell into a dark pit. Aqua started to run after him "No Aqua! Please!"

Aqua turned to him "I'm sorry Merlin." before diving in.

Merlin watched in horror as Aqua vanished underneath the surface then he saw her armor and Terra come up, but there was no Aqua...

OoOoO

Merlin woke up to a weird smell. He soon recognized the smell as bleach and wondered why he was in a bleach smelling room. He sat up and was relieved the room decided to remain stationary. He blink a couple times and found himself in a hospital bed. His clothes were in a neat pile and he noted then that he was wearing a patient gown.

He looked around for someone to explain why he was here when he heard two people talking. The first was deep but not menacing while the other sounded like Ienzo's guardian.

"When will the boy wake?" The unknown voice asked.

"I don't know Ansem. They boy appears to have suffered severe blood loss, but he doesn't have a scratch on him. Though I did notice the boy was capable of using a hundred percent of his brain capacity. I ran some tests and it appears magic may be involved with the lack of injury. Especially because his neuroscan shows he suffered a fatal head injury. As to when he will awaken, I haven't the slightest idea."

"I'm awake now sir."

Both men ran over and Merlin noted he was right about Ienzo's guardian being the second voice.

The first man, Ansem, spoke up "What happened?"

Merlin thought about it "I remember—Aqua!" He looked up to the two men "Where is she?" Ienzo's guardian shook his head "We found a breach between the realms. I would assume she is in the realm of darkness. I am sorry child, but that means she is likely dead."

Merlin felt like someone took a knife to his heart and twisted it. He began to shake "What about... Terra?"

"Young, tall, armor plate on his shoulder?"

Merlin beamed "That's the one."

Ansem shook his head "He... he had amnesia. Claims his name is Xehanort."

Merlin felt the metaphorical knife twist deeper in his heart. He stood up and began to change into his normal clothes.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Merlin turned "I don't _think_ I'm going anywhere. I _know_ I'm going to go see Terra."

Ienzo's guardian tried to sit him back down but he had already put his hoodie on and was walking out the door "What room?"

He could practically hear the two men look at each other. It was Ansem who answered, "Room 382."

Merlin thanked them, looking at his own room number and saw it was 319.

Merlin walked down the hall for a bit before he found the room he was looking for. He opened the door and saw Terra on the bed, looking blankly at the wall. Merlin bent down and noticed his eyes were not gold anymore, more of a brown color. Though his hair was still white.

"Hey Terra." Merlin said, "How are you feeling?"

Terra sat up weakly "Who... are you?"

Merlin bit his cheek to prevent himself from crying "It's me. Merlin. You remember me Terra, don't you?"

Terra blinked "My name is Xehanort. And no, I don't remember you."

Merlin felt his whole world shatter as he realized everyone was gone. Eraqus, Aqua, Terra... Ven; all of them... gone.

Merlin ran out the door without shutting it, tears flooded down his face like twin rivers. He had nowhere to go. Then he remembered _"I want you to go back to your home world."_

Ven had wanted him to go back. So, he would. He activated his armor and left, memories of his lost family flashing through his mind.

It took Merlin a surprisingly long time to find his home world of Albion, let alone his home village. But here he was.

He walked up to the closest person, a young man, maybe ten years older than he himself was, "Excuse me." Merlin asked, "But where may I find Hunith?"

The man sent him an incredulous look, "Hunith? She lives in the house two down. But she's nuts. Ever since her son vanished, she's been insisting he was kidnapped. And _what_ are you wearing?"

Merlin ignored the question "My name is Merlin. I'm looking for my mother."

The man gaped "After all this time... come on them." Merlin followed the man and was in front of a door.

He heard a firm female voice from behind it "Who is it?"

"It's Matthew. I think I just found your son."

Hunith opened the door and looked Merlin in the eye. She glared "Come inside child."

Merlin walked in nervously.

When the door closed, Hunith walked over "Prove to me this isn't some kind of joke, that you're really my baby boy."

Merlin looked to a vase and flicked his head slightly. The vase exploded. Hunith gaped when Merlin continued "I've always been able to do that."

Hunith softened visibly "M-Merlin?"

Merlin smiled sadly "Hello Mum." He had a sneaking suspicion absence had made his heart grow fonder, but he didn't care right now.

"You're alive!" She captured him in an embrace, "What happened?! Where have you been all this time?"

Merlin broke down then "They're gone Mum." He hugged her tightly "They're gone."

 **A/N: This story is probably going to be really long. It's relatively canon for** _ **Merlin**_ **, until the episode I break it off at. I do want to ask for if someone wants to, to draw a cover for this fanfic. Just send a review if you do and where to find it. But review anyway.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1: King's Champion**

"VEN!" Merlin shot awake. It had been twelve years, but memories of his past still haunted him. He saw his Keyblade had summoned itself again and groaned, he really hated when the blade did that, Arthur could catch him one day; fortunately, the Keyblade seemed to know this and didn't summon itself when the king was near.

On the subject of Arthur, Merlin remembered suddenly that he needed to wake the prat up early, Arthur's treacherous uncle, Agravaine, tricked him into beheading a foreign king; and the king's wife, Annis, was naturally unhappy about this and declared war.

Merlin began to get out of bed when Gaius rushed in "Merlin! Are you alright? I heard you screaming." Merlin nodded,

"Nightmares, I'm fine Gaius."

"You were screaming the name 'Ventus' again. Do you want to talk about it?" Merlin never told anyone except his true love, Freya—not even his mother, the full story of Terra, Ven and Aqua. It wasn't that he wanted to lie about it, he just didn't want to think about it at all. "I don't. Anyway, I need to wake up Arthur for war. But I need to get dressed."

"Talk to me my boy, when you're ready."

Merlin proceeded to get dressed. Before he went downstairs, he grabbed the silver wayfinder "Terra, Aqua, Ven. Please help me get through this." He walked downstairs and grabbed a piece of bread "Hope to see you soon Gaius!"

He walked into Arthur's chambers to find the king up and ready to go "Sorry I'm late." While he was used to saying that, it was usually after getting an object chucked at his head.

Arthur looked at him "You aren't late. I'm early." The king walked to the door "Time to go, Merlin."

OoOoO

Merlin sat down on a log alongside Leon, Gwaine, Elyan and Percival. They were laughing and talking as though there wasn't a pretty good chance they would die tomorrow. Merlin knew he might need to reveal his magic or Keyblade, but he didn't want to think about that at the moment.

Leon ruffled his hair "What's got you upset?"

Merlin looked to where Arthur was staring at him from the tent, "We might all die tomorrow. Camelot falling, you know, usual pessimist thoughts."

Gwaine shrugged "I like our odds."

Merlin looked at Arthur who spoke "Make sure to get some sleep." He seemed sad. Three guesses why.

Gwaine looked to Merlin "Is he alright?"

Merlin continued to look at where Arthur had been standing "He's our king. If anything were to happen to any one of us, he'll hold himself responsible."

OoOoO

Arthur was talking with the Queen of Caerleon, hoping to make a bargain. A one on one fight, winner take all. She listened, and just as it seemed she would go for the idea, who should enter the tent but his bumbling servant, Merlin. A surge of anger pulsed through the king, most of it directed at Merlin, but part of it at himself for not realizing the idiot would follow him.

As Merlin was placed besides Arthur and forced to kneel, they eyed each other, each trying to convey a message.

"Sorry about this," Merlin finally said.

The Queen's head snapped from the servant to Arthur. "You know him."

Arthur looked at the Queen, fear filling him as well as more anger towards his friend. "He's my servant, he must have followed me here. I knew nothing about it," he said, looking between them.

"Kill him," Annis commanded and another pulse of fear shot through Arthur.

"Wait, please. Let him go. He's just... a simple minded... fool." Arthur tried to persuade. He could practically feel Merlin's insulted expression burning into him.

Annis looked hard at Arthur. "That is two favors you've asked of me this night, Arthur Pendragon.

Arthur swallowed nervously, fearing what she would do to the idiotic fool he cared way too much about. The Queen turned from him and sat in a throne. She looked over Merlin with a pensive look. Arthur waited, and Merlin looked between the two powerful rulers. He was kicking himself for getting caught.

Finally, Annis spoke. "Very well, you shall have you trial by combat, but I cannot allow you to ask two favors of me this night."

Arthur tensed. He feared she had decided to kill Merlin anyway. What she said was much worse. "Instead of a warrior fighting for you, it shall be him, your servant." Arthur was about to protest, but the Queen continued. "If you do not agree to this, there will be war."

Arthur collected himself once more, thinking on her words. He couldn't risk war for one man, but it was _Merlin_. Why couldn't it be literally _anyone_ else!? He thought quickly,

"Then in order to keep things fair, you must choose someone who is not a soldier," he said. Merlin couldn't fight well, but he must have learned something in all those training sessions. He hoped he could at least hold up against someone else who had never been trained.

Annis considered this. Of course, the combat had to be fair, she had no choice but to comply. "Very well. I will announce my champion tomorrow at noon, and then, they shall fight. To the death."

Arthur nodded, hoping it was the weakest person possible.

"Now go, before I change my mind," she said.

Arthur pulled Merlin up roughly and they left.

As the two walked back, Arthur did his best to suppress his anger, but was failing miserably. "You idiot! You've ruined everything. Now I will lose you and half the kingdom!" He ended up saying in a fury. He would have thrown something heavy at the idiot if he could have found anything.

"I was just trying to protect you." Merlin said, but without the jest or sarcasm. He knew just how much shit he had gotten himself into.

"What is wrong with you. Why can't you ever just let me be?"

"I'm your friend. I was looking out for you."

"I appreciate that in your very confused way you're only trying to help, but please... don't do it again." Arthur said turning away from him. "That is if you survive this."

They made it back to the tent in silence. Arthur was still trying to think of a way to get Merlin out of this, for Annis to reconsider. He could think of nothing. He prepared for the worst. He turned to Merlin.

"Tomorrow morning, I will train you as best I can before you fight. You better not lose, Merlin." He said shaking his head.

"Arthur—" Merlin began.

"Stop. Just... go sleep… you're going to need it." Arthur said, waving him off. He couldn't deal with Merlin right now.

Merlin seemed to obey him for once and went to sleep.

Arthur didn't sleep at all. He tried thinking of anyway to get out of this, but nothing came. He was prepared to lose his friend and half his kingdom. He knew Merlin couldn't win.

...

Merlin lay awake on his bedroll. He needed to use his Keyblade, depending on who the champion was. Maybe it would be fine. He knew he wouldn't die, he was still a strong Keyblade Master. He hadn't gotten rusty by any standards. But would he keep his friendship with Arthur after this? He looked at the wayfinder "Help me…"

OoOoO

The next morning, Arthur was tasked with explaining to Agravaine and the knights the happenings of the previous night. Each of them listened quietly. When he was done, all of them waited for Arthur to say it was all a joke.

"You're kidding right?" Elyan said unsure after a long silence.

"I'm afraid not. As soon as we are done talking I need to train Merlin." Arthur said with tired eyes.

"But sire, we can win this war, I know we can," Sir Leon said.

"I don't doubt it, but at what cost? How many men will be slaughtered?" Arthur said.

"And what if we were to lose this trial? We can't give up our land!" Elyan argued.

"That's the deal I've struck," Arthur said a bit begrudgingly. "I believe it to be fair. I stand by it," Arthur said, not really believing his own words.

"But the boy, he can barely hold a sword, let alone use one," Agravaine said.

"We can only hope that their champion is just a poor with a sword. We still have time to teach Merlin a few tricks. We can still win," again he didn't believe his words.

No one spoke. Arthur nodded as if reassuring himself and went to go train Merlin.

OoOoO

Back in Annis' tent, Annis was trying to decide on a champion. She had considered one of her own servants, but none of them had ever held a sword. She knew the weak rat of Arthur's servant couldn't hold up in a battle, but she didn't want to take any chances. Morgana walked through the flaps of her tent and bowed to the Queen briefly.

"I heard you aren't going into battle but are doing a trial," Morgana said snidely.

"Indeed. All I need do is choose a champion," she said without looking at the witch.

"Who did Arthur decided upon?" Morgana questioned.

"He didn't get to decide. His servant followed him and as a consequence, I choose him as Arthur's champion." The Queen explained.

"Merlin? A servant fighting for half of Camelot. Arthur would not agree to this."

"That is why I must choose an equal opponent. He said I must choose someone who is not a soldier. I can think of no servant of mine who can handle a sword," the queen thought glumly. "Are you sure the only terms he gave was that it couldn't be a soldier?" Morgana questioned. The Queen gave a nod.

Before Morgana could respond, they heard a voice "My lady, I think I may have an idea."

A dark hole appeared like a tear in the universe. A boy walked out. He had a black coat and a mask, concealing his face.

Annis and Morgana jumped "Who are you."

The boy gave a fancy bow "Vanitas, your majesty. At your service. And what is this I hear about little Merlin being in a fight to the death?"

Annis and Morgana looked to each other "You know him?"

"Oh yes. The two of us have a history. And I am no soldier. Well, I guess I am, but not formally. Besides, the boy can fight much better than most know. He and I are equals, something that has been proven many times in the past. So I have a champion for you."

"And just who do you have in mind?"

Vanitas groaned. "Who do you think it is? Myself of course."

Annis paused, then gave a smile. "I think I just found my champion."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2: Battle**

Mickey stood before Master Yen Sid. The failure to rescue Aqua was a tragedy, yet the great master had another mission, regardless. Yen Sid looked up "Mickey. I need you to find someone. Merlin Emrys."

"Merlin's okay?!" Mickey asked. The boy had been missing without a trace for over ten years, the king had begun to fear he had gone in search of Aqua, only to suffer the same fate.

Yen Sid walked to the window "Yes, but I cannot discern his location. I want you to go find him. And bring him as our seventh guardian of light in place of Aqua."

Mickey flinched but nodded "I'll find him. Don't worry Master."

He walked outside and flew out of the world, "Merlin. Where are you?"

OoOoO

Arthur had been training Merlin for over an hour and it seemed like the fool wasn't even trying. "Come on Merlin," Arthur goaded. "Can't you fight better than a girl," he said with another swing.

Merlin blocked before tripping on a rock and falling on his back. _Ha, one of my best friends is a girl who can fight better than you, prat._

"Come on Merlin, I need you to win this," Arthur pleaded, losing hope.

Merlin looked as if he was barely paying attention. He kept looking over the hills towards Camelot and looking at Arthur strangely.

"Does this even matter to you? Do you even care?" Arthur asked as Merlin picked himself up off the ground.

Merlin looked at Arthur again and finally looked like he was paying attention. "Of course, I care," he replied sincerely.

"Then why aren't you trying harder? Aren't you worried about what will happen if you fail?" Arthur asked in frustration.

"Oh, I'm worried alright. Just not about the fight. Not exactly anyway," Merlin replied looking over towards Camelot again.

"What?" Arthur said perplexed. "You're not worried?"

"I know I'll win. I have no doubt about that." He reassured, looking Arthur in the eye again. Arthur was baffled.

"And why are you so sure? What are you worried about?" He questioned.

"I'm worried about what will happen after the fight." Merlin replied looking at Arthur in a way the king had never seen before. Fear. Of him, Arthur.

"What do you mean?"

Merlin paused a long time and continued to look at Arthur with fear. "Whatever happens, don't think any differently of me. I beg of you."

Arthur looked at him completely confused and was about to dig deeper, but he was interrupted by Sir Leon.

"Sire, Queen Annis has announced her Champion," he said grimly. Arthur prepared himself for a description of a large buff man. "It's someone named Vanitas. She has declared him as her champion. No description given."

Arthur raised an eyebrow, never having heard of Vanitas. He looked at Merlin to gauge his reaction and was shocked with what he found:

Merlin was staring down at the battlefield, but there was no fear, only hatred and rage in his eyes. It kind of scared the king, but what he found interesting was that Merlin obviously recognized the name.

"Merlin, why do you look like you're going to kill someone?"

"Let's just say Vanitas and I have a not so positive history." Merlin said looking at him, still pissed off.

Arthur was exasperated. "I give up." He said throwing his arms up. "Leon, you train Merlin." he said tossing him his sword. Leon looked worriedly between Arthur, the sword, and Merlin as Arthur walked off into the depths of his tent.

...

Merlin felt like he was going to explode in fury. Vanitas was alive. _How?! Aqua and I killed him and were forced to sacrifice Ven in the process! Wait... if Vanitas is back then maybe Ven is as well!_ He perked up and started fake training with Leon.

OoOoO

Noon had come. Caerleon's army stood in the vast valley in formation while Camelot's army stood above looking down on where the fight would take place. Arthur and Annis met in a tent- like area and sat down. Their champions paused when they reached the center of the battlefield eyeing their opponent. Vanitas looked at Merlin with glee, thinking he would finally get to kill the other man slowly and painfully as he had wanted for some time. Arthur had dressed Merlin in armor and given him a sword hoping they might be useful against Vanitas somehow.

"Arthur," Annis acknowledged, looking at Merlin with a raised eyebrow as she watched him, he never broke eye contact with Vanitas, even though Vanitas' face was behind a mask.

Arthur looked at Merlin and wanted to slap him, but just nodded at the Queen in acknowledgment.

"Don't worry Arthur; I can take him," Merlin said, still sending a glare which would sent a sane person screaming for their mommy at Vanitas.

Arthur wanted to kill Merlin himself. Now there was no getting him out of it.

"Shall we start then?" Annis asked.

Arthur tried thinking of something else to say, just to put it off longer, but could think of nothing. "Let's get this over with," he finally concurred. Arthur looked at Merlin, praying the young man would live to see another day.

Vanitas looked at Merlin. He gave a small chuckle. "Long time Merlin. This is going to be fun." He paused, looking Merlin over. After a moment, he threw his hands in the air "Okay! I want to kill you, but a small part of me want to kill you fairly. You _and_ Ventus. But I'll settle with you, put on your real armor. You and I both know that stuff won't help you." He summoned his Keyblade and the crowd gasped at the use of magic.

Merlin got into a defense position and Vanitas groaned "I'm doing you a favor and getting that chain mail off." He sent to beam of light at Merlin, causing Arthur to jump out of his seat. The chain mail fell to the ground, revealing Merlin's normal attire and the armor plate he put on before the chain mail.

"Better." Vanitas said. "Now put it on." Merlin glared before slapping the armor plate. He had been enchanting it over the years to still fit him and it did. He was relieved the helmet wasn't on as it made him claustrophobic. He looked to Arthur "I'm sorry. I hope you will give me the chance to explain." Arthur didn't respond.

Vanitas put a hand on his hip "Now. Summon your real weapon." Merlin held out his ordinary sword and Vanitas laughed "Not that one." He pointed his Keyblade at the Camelot camp "Do it, or I'll blow that camp to the ground."

Merlin bit his lip and turned back to Arthur "So sorry." Before summoning his Keyblade.

...

Arthur watched the two talking in bemusement. So, this person knew Ventus and was connected to him. Arthur had heard Merlin cry out that name while asleep on hunting trips but never got an answer as to who the person was.

When Merlin summoned his Keyblade armor, Arthur was shocked. It was beautiful, various shades of blue with silver, fitting him perfectly. He didn't see why Merlin apologized unless the armor was magic, which could be possible. But when Vanitas threatened to blow up his camp, even Annis gaped.

But they were both stunned when Merlin summoned a blade very much like Vanitas'. **A/N: Merlin's is the Rapture Keyblade, look it up online.** It was red and black and looked almost like a dragon.

Annis gasped "They're Keyblade wielders. This explains a lot."

Arthur's mind was in a whirlwind of shock and betrayal, which paused when Vanitas looked to them "You guys never started the fight. We're ready."

Arthur and Annis looked to each other with concern but decided that they wanted to see where this would go "Let the fight begin."

...

Merlin had been practicing fighting Vanitas for years at this point. As such, he was able to block the fireballs and use a counter very early on. He noticed he dealt a lot more damage than he remembered and checked his level: 1896. He had been grinding for over a decade. It made sense. Not to mention using his instinctual magic upped his Keyblade level. He inwardly smirked at the realization Vanitas likely thought they were equals. He was in for one big surprise.

He immediately used Ignite and saw Vanitas' health go down gradually. He dodged out of the way as Vanitas jumped and launched lightning at him.

Merlin took this opportunity to get in a couple combos before Vanitas froze in place. Merlin rapidly dodged to the side as Vanitas teleported to where he was moments before. "Seriously?! Still with the bitchy counter?!"

"I really don't like you, Merlin."

"The feeling is mutual."

During that conversation, Merlin had managed to max his shotlock gage and was coated in ice for the shotlock Absolute Zero. Vanitas was sent flying backwards.

Merlin smiled and activated Magic Volley. Or as Ven liked to call it 'Balls in the face'.

Vanitas was at a quarter health bar by this point. The masked boy looked towards Merlin and vanished.

Merlin looked around for his enemy when he heard someone shout "Up here Merlin!" Merlin looked up and saw Vanitas in the tent with Arthur and Annis, gripping the back of the former's head. Merlin charged up to save his friend. He was barely in the tent when Vanitas stopped him "Drop your weapon or the king dies."

Merlin looked down at his Keyblade " _You're_ the one who made me summon it."

"Yeah. But that was before I realized you've leveled up significantly and I didn't stand a chance. Besides, I said the fight had to _start_ fair. I didn't say anything about the rest."

Merlin de-summoned his Keyblade when Vanitas spoke again "And no instinctual magic either, you damn sorcerer."

Arthur gaped in sheer horror that made Merlin's heart hurt, "How long have you been betraying me like this?!" He yelped in pain when Vanitas began using an ice spell "You remember what happened to dear old Ventus when Xehanort did this. Do you really want that to happen to such a pretty face?"

Merlin shook his head "If you want to kill me, go ahead. But you must promise me you and Xehanort will never return to this world."

Vanitas shrugged "Deal."

Annis stalked over to her champion "Vanitas, stop this!"

Vanitas laughed "Oh Annis. I really don't care about your stupid war. All I wanted was to kill Emrys over here." He threw Arthur to the ground "And it's time for revenge." He launched himself at Merlin and threw him over the ledge where a shockwave rippled across the battlefield. Vanitas attacked Merlin with everything he had when Merlin heard a voice in his head _"_ _Merlin... where are you?"_ Was that... Mickey?

" _I'm on the world called Albion, border between Caerleon and Camelot. I'm about to be killed by Vanitas so hurry up!"_

He didn't hear the voice again and had his back against the cliff face.

"I'm going to kill you Merlin. Any last words?"

Merlin noticed someone landed silently behind them and was creeping up to them. He noticed King Mickey, of all people, put a finger to his lips as if to say "be quiet."

"You said I couldn't use my Keyblade or magic." Merlin said with a smirk, "But you didn't say anything about him." Mickey whacked Vanitas over the back of the head, he crumpled to the ground. Mickey held his Keyblade above his head to finish off the masked boy when Vanitas jumped up. Both backed away and Vanitas opened a dark corridor "Hmph. You win. See you soon Merlin... I'll tell Aqua you say hello" He was gone, as Merlin cried out at the mention of his friend.

Merlin turned to his savior "Thank you, your majesty."

 **A/N: What will Arthur do? Well, I already told you in the summary that he joins the adventure. Worry not. Oh, and I know Hunith probably wasn't an abusive mother, but Xehanort was involved, take a hint at what went down. Also, this is turning into a KH3 AU as well.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3: Reunion and explanation**

Merlin stared blankly at Mickey for a moment, before the king spoke, "You've grown up." Merlin beamed and bent down, hugging the mouse king,

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you!"

...

Arthur watched as Merlin hugged the walking, talking, mouse and the two began crying. All this time, Merlin was a Keyblade wielder—whatever that was—and a sorcerer. And his name wasn't even Merlin. He was about to storm out of the tent and put an end to the traitor when Annis stopped him "Arthur."

Arthur turned to the queen "What?"

"Don't hurt the boy."

Arthur glared "He's a Keyblade wielder and a sorcerer. By the laws of the land I must kill him."

Annis walked up and slapped him "He was willing to die so you would be safe. Besides, Emrys is an Druidic alias. A being born with magic. As to the Keyblade, I don't know much, but what I do know is that a wielder doesn't have a choice. The blade just shows up one day and they're stuck with it. At least let him explain before casting your final judgment."

Arthur nodded "Thank you for the information Annis."

He walked down to the battlefield but hid behind a rock to hear their conversation.

"Mickey. You should go." Merlin said.

The mouse, Mickey, seemed curious "Why? I just found you after all these years. We need to leave this world and go to the Mysterious Tower."

Arthur moved slightly to see. Merlin shook his head "I live in Camelot. Magic is punishable by death. I'm going to stay and let myself be killed, I cannot bear for that to happen to you. You're my only tie to them."

Mickey squeezed Merlin's shoulder "I'm not letting that happen Merlin."

Merlin looked away "Then don't look. But... if you see Ven or Aqua or Terra... tell them that I love them and I'm sorry."

"No!" Mickey shouted, "I refuse to let you get hurt, you have no idea what has happened!" Merlin shook his head "No, I don't know. But Arthur has been a very dear friend to me. And I've been using my magic for the past six years to protect him. I stay."

Arthur couldn't take it anymore and walked out from behind the rock "Hello Merlin. Or do you want Emrys?"

Merlin bit his lip "I prefer Merlin. I am so sorry Arthur." He pushed Mickey away and bowed his head "You may do what you wish with me. I won't stop you. Just... let Mickey go."

Arthur knew then that he was wrong to think Merlin a traitor for a second. He was still Merlin: loyal, kind and sometimes wise. So instead, he raised his sword and threw it away from them. Merlin looked up slightly "Um... you aren't going to kill me…?"

"Are you kidding? I would rather break a stain glass window than destroy an artist like yourself. I just want to ask some questions." He helped his—dare he say it—friend to his feet "Come along, Mickey. I have a feeling you can answer some questions better than he can."

OoOoO

They walked up to the camp and Agravaine came over and drew his sword "That boy is a traitor! If you value what your father would have done Arthur, you shall kill them both right now!"

Mickey yelped, and Merlin turned to look at him "Are you alright?"

"Such a terrible... darkness..."

Merlin sighed and whispered in his ear "I know. But Arthur cares about him. He shouldn't know his uncle is working for Morgana just yet. I'll tell you who Morgana is later."

Though Merlin wasn't quiet enough for Arthur not to hear "What?! Uncle is this true?!" _Because if it is... oh gods! Guinevere! Agravaine convinced me to break up with the woman I love!_ Agravaine opened and closed his mouth before stuttering out "Do you really believe him Arthur. He's—"

"Emrys." Arthur cut off, "Not a sorcerer." He wondered why he was taking this so well. But something about this seemed right, in a sense, like this was meant to be.

Agravaine sent a death glare at Merlin and it was enough for the king to have his answer "You did something to stop that sorcerer from healing my father, didn't you."

Agravaine bit his cheek before shrugging "Yes. That stupid man was trying to _heal_ your father. Morgana gave me a charm to reverse the effects and kill him."

Arthur gave a heartbroken scream and drove his blade into his uncle's heart. Agravaine fell to the ground dead.

Arthur turned to Merlin, the knights were not-so-subtly examining Mickey. The king sighed "You were the sorcerer trying to heal my father. Weren't you?"

Merlin paled but nodded "I'm so sorry."

Arthur sat on the log beside his friend "I said that if someone healed my father I'd free magic. You didn't know about the exterior force working against you. Magic isn't evil, Morgana is." Merlin remained paler than usual,

"What are you saying?"

Arthur looked at Merlin "I owe it to you to lift that ban. Is it true you've been protecting me for years?"

Merlin nodded "I swear. If I didn't know better, if think you were a Keyblade wielder with the amount of trouble you attract. Seriously, three assassins plus the weekly magical threat per week!"

Arthur remembered then "Annis told me a Keyblade wielder doesn't have a choice. Is it true?" Merlin shrugged,

"For most. Aqua, Ven, Terra and I just got the thing one day. And it promptly screwed up our lives. There is the inheritance ceremony, but that's basically handing your blade to a small child and see if it likes them. They're usually too young to know what they're doing so..."

"You speak as though having a Keyblade is a bad thing. I'd think it'd be cool."

"Well, I was kidnapped and kept in my captor's custody under the guise of training and hiding from the pyre within five minutes of getting the thing. So, I might be being biased."

Arthur gaped "Within five minutes?!"

"Xehanort sucks."

Arthur paused "I'm about to ask you a personal question... what happened to Terra, Aqua and Ven?"

Merlin grimaced "Xehanort. Xehanort happened."

"You've screamed something about a 'realm of darkness'..."

Merlin sighed "The realm of darkness is what you would call hell. She has been trapped there for twelve years."

"So, she's like thirty? Oh god, I have a feeling she wouldn't have been too kind if I _had_ killed you."

Merlin laughed lightly "Yeah, she's thirty. Eight years older than me. And yeah, we didn't call her Mom for nothing."

Arthur paused "Wait. She was eighteen, twelve years ago. And you are ten years younger than her. You were ten when this Xehanort guy came along?!"

Merlin shook his head "I was ten when Xehanort destroyed the life I'd built for myself. He showed up when I got the Keyblade at five."

"Five?!"

"I was pretty young."

Arthur put his hands on his face "What about Terra and Ven. Why do you scream their names at night?"

"Terra was a lot like Morgana. At our Mark of Mastery, where you see whether you are worthy of the title Master—it's a lot like the test for a knight of Camelot—anyway, Xehanort managed to screw up the test and prevent Terra from passing, only Aqua and I. Yes, I was the youngest Master in a hundred years. Terra decided to seek answers from Xehanort and Xehanort convinced him we were all plotting against him. It didn't help matters that I was aware of him being evil and possessed some other information. Xehanort got Terra to kill our master, Eraqus, and eventually possessed him."

Arthur gasped "What information did you possess?"

Merlin sighed "That involves Ven. You see, Ven was Xehanort's apprentice with me at first. But Xehanort wanted something called the X-Blade to set off some sort of war to end the universe and see what happened next."

"What the hell?!"

"Let me finish. Anyway, Ven refused, because he was around when that weapon was used last and knew what it was capable of in the wrong hands. So Xehanort ripped his heart—soul—in half, creating Vanitas.

"Oh."

"Yup. After this, he sent Ven—who now had amnesia—and I to train with Eraqus. But he told me he would kill Terra, Ven, Aqua and Eraqus if I told them the truth about Vanitas. But when Vanitas tricked Ven into leaving the world, instead of taking him home, I let him become stronger. I knew Vanitas would fight him whether he was ready or not, I didn't want Ven to be the one dead. Of course, it was a lose lose situation. Somehow—Aqua and I were unconscious, I don't know about her and don't want to talk about me—Ven and Vanitas fought. Ven won but Vanitas possessed his body and forged the X-Blade. Aqua and I regained consciousness and were forced to beat the crap out of him, breaking the blade, and shattering Ven's heart. He's in a coma, supposedly never to awaken. But the last thing he asked me to do was, in the event he forged the X-Blade, to go back to Ealdor. And you know the rest, county boy in Ealdor."

Arthur was fighting back tears at this point "You...you lost everything."

Merlin smiled softly "It got worse in Camelot. But please, I'll tell you some other time. Give me some time to get over my PTSD."

Arthur nodded "You've proven to me that magic isn't evil. This interrogation is over. You are officially pardoned... until I lift that ban in which case there is nothing to pardon."

Merlin beamed, "You mean it?!"

"Yes. I mean it."

Arthur found himself crushed in a hug "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Arthur broke the hug "One more question. How much of a threat is Xehanort if he won?"

"We would all die a horrible death. Like, everyone and everything would cease to exist."

Arthur clapped his hands together "Well then. You and Mickey are going to take me out of this world to help you fight Xehanort. No time to wait. I'll have Elyan put Guinevere in charge."

Merlin gaped "Uh...okay? If you die or get kidnapped it's not my fault."

Arthur chuckled "Famous last words. But that's fine, I'm not letting you go off and defend the universe while I stay here, not knowing if my world will explode."

"That's fair." He walked over to Mickey, "Ready to go?"

Mickey nodded, "Are we bringing Arthur?"

Arthur was explaining the situation to the knights and walked over to them "Time to go." Merlin blinked at Mickey "Do we have anything to protect him from the darkness of the lanes between?"

Mickey shrugged "Enchant his clothing."

Merlin looked to Arthur, his eyes flashed gold and Arthur's clothing took a slight blue glow "That will work until we get to the Mysterious Tower. Let's go."

Merlin summoned his Keyblade and threw it in the air, turning into his hover-board. He activated his armor as he hopped on. Mickey followed his example. "Hop on Arthur."

Arthur cautiously stepped into Merlin's and held his waist "If you let me slide off Merlin, I am never going to forgive you."

Merlin laughed and summoned a portal to the Mysterious Tower "Time to go!" They flew out of Albion and their adventure began.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4: A new wielder**

They arrived at the Mysterious Tower after about five minutes. Arthur surveyed the tiny world in awe "Is this what all the worlds are like?"

Merlin shook his head "They're all different." The warlock turned to Mickey "Shall we?"

OoOoO

They entered the tower and through a door when they heard a voice "Master Merlin Emrys. Good to see you again. Last time I laid eyes on you, you were merely a child."

To Arthur's shock, Merlin bowed; and not sarcastically—though how he managed to _bow sarcastically_ at all still eluded the king, "It is a pleasure Master Yen Sid. May I ask what Xehanort is doing this time?"

The man, Yen Sid, nodded "He has repeatedly tried to recreate the X-Blade and start the Keyblade War. Only this time he is using thirteen versions of himself and his followers against seven guardians of light. Though he has made a serious development."

Merlin frowned "With all due respect, that's a terrible idea. We were defeated by that old man when we outnumbered him! How would we do it when he already has the advantage?!"

Yen Sid stood and walked to Arthur "We have been retrieving the lost wielders. Three of which include Ventus, Aqua and Terra. We have no intention of having the disadvantage. And I see you found someone else to help."

"If I may sir," Arthur said quietly, "I don't have a Keyblade, I just want to help."

Yen Sid looked to Merlin "Indeed you do. You and Emrys only have half a heart. You each have a half of the other. This stands to reason that you could summon a Keyblade if you tried."

Arthur gaped, looking between himself and Merlin, "Merlin and I are the same person?!"

"More like the sun and moon."

"Oh."

Yen Sid spoke up "Try summoning yours Arthur Pendragon."

"I don't know how." He really hadn't expected to be getting one of these things.

Merlin took Arthur's hand and held it in the air, "Imagine summoning the blade, think very hard and close your eyes."

Arthur closed his eyes and didn't notice the bright flash in his hand,

"Woah!"

The king opened his eyes and saw a Keyblade in his hand. The blade looked like a sword, except for a red and gold crown to complete the key and a keychain with the Pendragon crest. The name _King's Heart_ appeared in his head.

Yen Sid smiled approvingly "Both for you should change into more mobile attire and get you some armor. Merlin, we should update yours."

"Yes Master." Merlin bowed and handed the older man his armor plate. "Same color scheme?"

"Yes please."

Yen Sid nodded "And you Arthur?"

Arthur didn't know what the older man meant, so Merlin responded, "Red and gold for him."

Yen Sid nodded again "Very well. Go to the three good fairies for different attire. Then Mickey shall take you to the room you shall be sharing until further notice."

Merlin bowed, followed by Arthur "Thank you Master." They shot each other a look for being so synchronized.

Yen Sid walked into a separate room.

Mickey looked to the two men "Follow me."

They followed her and walked into a room with three fairies Merlin recognized "You're Aurora's guardians!"

The fairy in red nodded, startled "Yes. How do you—Merlin? Ha! Long time child."

"You remember me?"

The fairy in green nodded "Oh of course. It's hard to forget a child with such light."

The fairy in blue spoke up "I assume you need something."

"My friend Arthur and I need new clothes."

The green fairy grabbed Merlin's wrist "Oh. We know what to do. Ready girls?"

The three fairies flicked their wands and Merlin attire changed from his servant clothing to jeans, a short sleeved black shirt and a grey sweatshirt.

"Wow! That's cool!" Arthur gaped at the quick change. This was quite interesting. He felt in the dark about everything, and hated that feeling, and now he was determined to learn everything.

The fairy in blue turned to Arthur "Your turn."

Arthur stepped forward and the fairies flicked their wands again. Arthur's clothing was changed to jeans and a pendragon red shirt.

"Oh my god this is so much more comfortable."

Mickey walked in "Your armor is done guys." He handed them both to Merlin. Merlin quickly put on his own armor plate and turned to Arthur,

"Do you want me to help you put on yours?" Arthur nodded, and Merlin talked him through putting it on. "—and then you push the button to activate it."

"Thanks Merlin."

Mickey gave a thumbs up "Let me take you to your room."

The walked into a small room only to find a long hallway "Wow." Merlin breathed "This is amazing."

Mickey laughed "Yeah. Anyway, this is the room you two will be sharing. See you at dinner in an hour."

They opened the door and saw a bookshelf, two mannequins for their armor and two beds: one with blue bedding and one with red. Both beds were next to a window.

"When she said we were sharing a room..." Arthur breathed, "I didn't think it would be like this."

Merlin laughed "Rule number five of being a Keyblade wielder: always expect the unexpected. I'll get into the others later."

Arthur sat on the bed "Holy... this is comfier than my bed in Camelot. Okay. Camelot needs to change, make some updates."

Merlin sat on his bed "And this is considered one of the smallest worlds. Wait until you see the cities."

Arthur walked over to the bookshelf and saw a book _Court of Thorns and Roses_ "Is this any good?" He read the back, "Looks good."

Merlin looked up from the book he was reading "Yeah. It's good. I will warn you, there is a lot of... ahem... descriptive sex... in the later books. And they talk about plot important stuff during those chapters so... but other than that yeah, it's great. But that is the way I got the birds and the bees talk."

Arthur shrugged "How bad can it be?" He put the book on his nightstand and noticed a weird contraption on it "What's this?"

Merlin looked up from his book, Throne of Glass, "Hm? Oh. That's a lamp." He looked at his and flicked a small switch, causing a light to turn on "It gives light."

Arthur flicked the switch on his "Is it magic?"

"No. I could probably build one out of scraps from the forge if I wanted to."

Arthur sat on the bed "Are you going to train me? Or is someone else going to?"

Merlin again looked up from his book, he sighed and marked his page, putting it on the nightstand "I don't know. Probably. I know how you learn. Though, seeing your style, I would say Terra would be a good teacher in general. But Terra isn't around at the moment, so I guess I will. Do you want to start learning now?"

Arthur shrugged "When will we get to see new worlds?"

"As soon as you figure out your Keyblade glider. I don't want to drive a gummi ship. Last time I was in one, Aqua, Terra and I stole it from out babysitter and almost got lost in the lanes between."

Arthur laughed "Oh my. Something tells me I want to hear that one."

If you want to know more about my childhood, ask Aqua when we find her, she documents it. Or I could get a laptop, because the Keyblade records it too."

"You know I will." Arthur looked out the window "Why would Xehanort want to destroy this?"

Merlin looked out the window as well "Because he's nuts. Think of Morgause, only willing to kill children."

Arthur winced, thinking about that "I wouldn't put it past her. Remember the Dorocha?"

"Yes. But she was trying to take over the kingdom. Not destroy the universe. Xehanort would say she had no ambition."

There was a buzzing noise and Merlin smacked a weird black box on his nightstand "Time for dinner."

"What is that? It's very annoying."

"It's an alarm clock. Its whole purpose is to annoy you into waking up."

Arthur groaned "Let's go eat. I don't want to deal with that."

OoOoO

They found the dining room about five minutes later, seeing two redheads, Mickey, a white-haired boy and Yen Sid already there. "Are we late?"

The white-haired boy shook his head "Nope. We're early. Merlin, right?"

Merlin nodded, feeling like he remembered the boy from somewhere, then he remembered "Kid from Destiny Islands. Oh god, is Sora a Keyblade wielder as well?!"

"Yup. Not to mention he has Ventus' heart stuck inside his. We're going to go wake up your sleeping friend when Sora gets back."

Merlin felt like he was going to faint. The female redhead guided him to a chair "I'm Kairi." Merlin grabbed a glass of water and downed it like a shot glass "Ven... Sora... what?!"

The male redhead laughed "Good going Riku. You broke a master."

Riku rolled his eyes "He's in shock. He'll be fine. And he hasn't heard the worst of it Axel."

"For the last time. My name is Lea. Got it memorized?"

Arthur decided to remind them he was in the room "So... Where's dinner?"

Lea threw a hand in Arthur's direction as the king sat down next to his warlock friend "My kind of guy... Arthur?"

"Yeah."

Kairi smiled "You and Merlin are friends, right?"

Arthur nodded "I would hope so. Though I know less about him than I thought."

Merlin decided to re-enter the conversation "Other than my past and magic, what you know is accurate."

"I'm glad you came out of shock. If we had another wielder going into a coma..." Mickey trailed off.

Arthur's eyebrows reached his hairline "Is that... common?"

"Over the course of the last three years, a Keyblade wielder always ends up in one at one time or another." Mickey explained.

Arthur gawked and glared at Yen Sid "Warn me next time!"

Yen Sid rolled his eyes and flicked his wrist. A large variety of food appeared, and the group dug in.

Merlin looked up from his chicken a few minutes and looked to Mickey "What exactly have I missed?"

Mickey proceeded to tell Merlin and Arthur what they didn't know—but they kept Aqua's fate and the failed rescue attempt to themselves for now. By the end of it, Merlin had turned his water into wine and Arthur made him do the same with his.

"So...Xehanort is thinking ten billion steps ahead of us at all times...?"

Arthur began laughing like a maniac "We're screwed."

Merlin drank his wine like his life depended on it "Death shall occur." They then noticed Yen Sid had left.

Riku shrugged "Sora has defeated the guy twice."

"Yeah. But against the whole organization he nearly got possessed."

"Could any of us take the whole organization at once on our own." Lea asked.

Merlin picked at what was left of his dinner "Roxas or Ven. If Ven has his memory back when we wake him up."

Nobody wanted to know what that could possibly mean.

Arthur finished his meal "Where do I put the dish? I can tell Merlin won't be my servant anytime soon."

Riku stood up "Follow me."

The two men walked into a small room full of strange items "Welcome to the kitchen." Riku opened a silver contraption and took Arthur's plate "I'll run it when everyone else is done."

"What does it do?"

Riku looked up, confused "It's a dishwasher. What do you think it does? Oh! You're from a medieval world. That explains it. I won't get into what that means."

Arthur ignored the white-haired man's foreign speak and put the dish in "I'm going to get ready for bed. Tell Merlin I'm in our room."

OoOoO

Merlin walked in fifteen minutes later with a large bottle of wine "I apologize. I didn't know the true horror of what we were in for."

Arthur looked up from his book "God bless you."

Merlin poured two glasses and walked to a dresser when Arthur spoke again "I wasn't sure which one was mine."

Merlin looked in the one closest to his bed "This one's mine. That one's yours."

Arthur proceeded to change into his pajamas, red flannel pajama pants and a grey sweater. Merlin had on his dark grey sweat pants and quickly put on a sweater.

He sat back in bed and Arthur saw something "Your bangs, are they hiding a scar?"

Merlin pulled back his bangs back to reveal a long cut that seemed to reach all the way to the back of his head. "Yes. Vanitas is to blame for that."

Arthur got up and put a hand on the scar, tracing it with his finger "What happened?"

Merlin looked away "When Aqua, Terra, Ven and I went to fight Xehanort... remember when Vanitas grabbed the back of your head?"

"Yes."

"Well, he wanted to freeze you Dorocha style like Xehanort did to Ven. While Aqua was trying to thaw him, I helped Terra fight Xehanort and Vanitas. Eventually, Vanitas jumped off the cliff to kill Aqua and Ven. I couldn't let that happen, so I jumped as well to stop him. But while he and I were equally matched, when falling, Vanitas was stronger and was able to pin me to the cliff face as we fell and pressed my skull to it. Mickey healed me right before I died."

Arthur clenched a fist "I want to hurt him. Nobody hurts my baby brother like that and gets away with it."

Merlin looked up, smirking and grinning at the same time, "Baby brother? It sounds like you care."

Arthur sighed "As a king, I don't let my feelings show... but I care about you Merlin."

"Really?"

Arthur rolled his eyes "Oh don't get all mushy Merlin! Seriously, I can't admit my feelings for one moment before you tear up—"

He was interrupted by a tight hug from Merlin "Thank you."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Something to note here. Eraqus had a harder time keeping Ven from leaving the world because Merlin could easily call bullshit. So, Ven could leave with supervision.**

 **Chapter 5: Zodiac Phantom and Confrontations**

Arthur woke up to the sounds of shuffling. He got up and saw Merlin packing a bag, fully dressed and drinking a glowing-green liquid.

"What are you drinking and what are we doing?" Arthur asked drearily.

Merlin looked up at him "This," he gestured to the bottle "Is a potion. It increases health points. As to what I'm doing, I'm going to go rescue Aqua."

"Isn't she trapped in literal, actual hell?"

Merlin gave a nonchalant hand gesture "I've been going down there one a month for over ten years. Riku mentioned he and Sora ended up on a beach. I never saw the beach, but I can go places with my magic when I know they exist."

"Wait." Arthur said, throwing a sweater on "You've been going down there?!"

"Of course I have. Do you really think I simply accepted Aqua being gone forever? Hell no. I channeled my magic eleven years ago and go down there for a week—you suffer nasty side effects like vivid hallucinations of your worst fears if down there any longer."

"Is that why you vanish without a trace all the time?"

"Yup. That or saving you and or Camelot, usually the former, I swear." The last part was more in exasperation than a promise.

Arthur began packing a bag as well "I'm going with you. I need to learn. Trial and error would be a good way to learn how to use this Keyblade."

Merlin nodded in agreement, it was a good point. If Terra couldn't teach him, trial and error would work. That was how Xehanort taught him, just chuck him into a pile of Neo-shadows... and this is one of the many reasons it was safe to say Merlin had daddy issues, and kind of mommy issues, but that was for another time.

Merlin and Arthur packed their bags and walked outside. Merlin took a breath and his hands covered with purple energy—Arthur didn't know it was dark energy—and slammed his hands into the ground. A dark portal appeared.

Merlin smiled "Let us go."

Arthur looked around the purple, blue and black area, it was dark, but beautiful,

"Woah…"

"Welcome to the Realm of Darkness." Merlin announced, then he threw out a hand, "The beach is this way." he pulled out the silver wayfinder, it blinked slightly, "Alrighty then!"

OoOoO

They were walking in comfortable silence, occasionally interrupted by a group of Heartless. Merlin was happily pleased that Arthur was handling himself very well, he even figured out Critical Impact and had leveled up seven levels.

"So... what exactly is being a Keyblade wielder like?" Arthur asked, curious, wanting to know from a Master.

"Kind of like alcoholism." Merlin answered in a deadpan fashion, "Enjoyable in the short run but will only hurt you in the end." Arthur laughed.

"Can you tell me some stories of the thing you, Terra, Aqua and Ven did?"

Merlin nodded, "We mainly trained. Occasionally I would get annoyed and turn Terra into a tree."

Arthur just laughed as they made it to the beach. They walked around for a few minutes before Arthur saw a young woman with light blue hair, nearly silver, sitting on the beach, "Merlin! I think I found her!"

Merlin sprinted over, and Arthur saw a tear of joy fall down his friend's cheek "A-Aqua?"

He walked up to her slowly and put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched, "Long time Merlin. But did Mickey not tell you?" She looked up to reveal Xehanort-gold eyes and silver tips of her hair "He already found me. But then he abandoned me and never told anyone. Then Xehanort found me. You're too late."

Merlin jumped back like he had been burned as a dark aura surrounded the young woman, "Aqua? What happened to you?"

"You know Merlin," Aquanort said, "when Xehanort told me to wait a little bit longer before leaving, I didn't know what to expect. This is a treat. You grew up well."

"And you haven't grown up at all." Merlin snarled, "So get the hell out of her Xehanort."

Aquanort snickered "Nah," she perked up "I have a gift for you." she waved her hand and a mirror appeared, "have fun..." she vanished, running deeper into the dark world.

Arthur saw Merlin utterly break down in a fit of sobs "No... no, no, no, no, no!"

Arthur walked up to the mirror and stroked the glass before hearing Merlin scream "Arthur, no!"

Without warning, a hand appeared out of the mirror and gripped Arthur's wrist. Merlin tried to pry his friend away, but the mirror grabbed him as well and sucked them in.

They fell into the room and began looking around. The mirror was still there and they both saw a being identical to Merlin walk out, the only difference was that the copy's eyes were glowing blue. It wasn't a human glow; a great evil was behind those eyes.

"Pathetic." The Merlin-lookalike scoffed, walking to Merlin, ignoring Arthur altogether, "You claim to fight for the light, but only your heart is hollow enough to be a demon's."

Merlin glared and lunged, but the lookalike dodged and cloned himself, slicing at Merlin and bringing the real warlock to his knees—cutting through his barrier.

Merlin jumped back, "I _fucking_ hate you Xehanort!"

Arthur turned to him, "What?"

"It's a Zodiac phantom. In the realm of darkness, phantoms can appear to try breaking you down, but only Zodiac phantoms can cut through barriers and use that wombo-combo. And if you get hit by the wombo-combo like I just did... hit hit hit hit, there goes your HP."

Arthur huffed, watching the Phantom walk around them, baiting them, "So what do we do? How do we kill it?"

"I can get us out." Merlin said, "But I may not have enough strength to get us out of the Realm of Darkness for a time, alright? But we need to get out of here to get to Ven before Xehanort does."

Arthur nodded, barely managing to block successfully against the wombo-combo.

Merlin began to glow. Like, literally glow, putting the brightest lanterns to shame. There was a blast and the two brothers found themselves on the beach. Arthur ran over to where Merlin was catching his breath,

"Are you okay?"

"Terrific." Merlin said dryly, "A little dead inside, but I've been worse." he sat down, "Oh god, that was exhausting."

Arthur handed Merlin a glowing blue liquid he grabbed from the fridge before leaving, "Will this help?" Merlin looked at the liquid and looked at Arthur in surprise,

"Yes, actually. That is _exactly_ what I needed. An Ether, restores my magic. For normal Keyblade wielders, it will replenish and you can use cure, but since I am literally magic and had to rip a hole in and mend the universe in the span of ten seconds, I'm tired. This only happens in worlds without life, because my magic comes from the earth." He drank it and bounced up, "Now I have enough energy, so we can get to Ven." His hands began to glow with golden light and they were suddenly falling.

Arthur found himself in a barren world, dark, with only one path, and a weird-looking castle with towers dangling off other towers. Because fuck gravity and the laws of physics, am I right?

"Welcome to what is left of my home!" Merlin said with a grin that didn't reach his eyes, "It was the Land of Departure on a mountain, but now it's Castle Oblivion on...this." He sighed, and they walked into the castle to find barren white walls.

"Castle Oblivion?"

Merlin nodded, "You see, when Aqua and I designed this place to guard Ven's body, we made it so all who visit this land will be lost to oblivion, none ever able to solve the mystery except the two of us." They climbed thirteen sets of stairs and found themselves in front of a large door. Merlin summoned his Keyblade and tapped it to the door, "I am Master Merlin Emrys, I am here for Ventus."

The doors opened, and Arthur saw a white throne in the center of the plain white room. They walked to it and Arthur saw a sleeping boy in the throne, no older than fifteen. In the boy's hand was a green version of Merlin's silver wayfinder. This had to be Ventus.

Merlin bent down next to the sleeping form and lifted the boy's eyelid to find a deep blue. He sighed in relief, "Thank god."

"Huh?"

Merlin gave a nonchalant hand gesture and took Ventus out of the chair and essentially carried him in a piggyback ride. The warlock gestured for Arthur to follow and he did, walking down all thirteen flights of stairs.

They were outside the castle now and Merlin was about to summon his Keyblade glider when there were surrounded by twelve dark figures in black coats. Arthur's Keyblade summoned itself instinctively, these people were no good.

"I knew we'd been seeing each other, my Fireheart."

Arthur blinked and saw a bald old man with dark skin looking at Merlin with...was that love? Whatever the feeling was, it was positive, and Merlin didn't feel the same, "Xehanort." It wasn't formal, there was nothing but loathing as he spat the name out like the foulest curse.

 _Ah, so this is Xehanort._ Quite frankly, Arthur suddenly felt underwhelmed, he had expected someone younger; but from the stories he had been told, this old man was no joke; and judging by the group of people surrounding them, who looked fully capable of killing them, he couldn't help but agree on that statement.

Xehanort began walking towards Merlin, "I would have thought it easier to find you, young one. Turns out, even though you were in the most obvious location, I could not find you. Naturally I came for you as fast as I could when I discovered you had returned to that wretched world. I do apologize for Vanitas, I did not expect your encounter to go the way it did." He held out his hand, "Join us, Fireheart."

Merlin glared, holding tighter to Ven, "You will not call me that. And I would _never_ join you."

Xehanort looked genuinely hurt, but the look vanished as quickly as it appeared, "You do know I never meant for you to get hurt, right?"

"No." Merlin said, confused now.

Xehanort clearly saw the confusion, "Remember what I told Vanitas that day: 'go take what Ventus owes you and take Aqua's life.' Did I say anything about harm to you? No. Because you and I are connected. I could never hurt you."

Arthur jumped forward with his Keyblade, "Mental wounds are just as bad as physical!"

"Ah." Xehanort looked upon Arthur in fascination, almost deciding how much of a threat the blonde king posed, "Your other half. I wondered when you would find him. Such a pity he was raised to hate magic."

"Maybe. But I've since learned otherwise!" Arthur shot back, letting himself smirk in satisfaction at the startled look from the evil mastermind, before Xehanort laughed.

"Well. I was here for Ventus, but I know he told you everything, Merlin. Where is the X-Blade?"

Merlin scoffed, "Like I would tell you." Then he seemed to get an idea, "Tell you what, I'll tell you in exchange for Terra _and_ Aqua."

"You are in no place to be making bargains, Merlin. As you can see, I have the upper hand." Merlin's eyes flashed without a word or movement and every Organization Member except Xehanort was sent flying backwards, "I think not."

Xehanort smiled warmly, "Ah Merlin, you've always had your father's talent."

That got Merlin's attention, "My father? Balinor?" He heard Arthur's gasp but chose to ignore it.

Xehanort looked startled, "Balinor? No. Your mother didn't tell you? _I_ _'_ _m_ your father. Ask her. Why do you think I care so much for you?"

Merlin passed Ven to Arthur, crossing his arms, "What? No, you're not!"

"Yes I am."

"Prove it."

Xehanort pulled out a piece of paper, "Fine. I have your birth certificate right here." Merlin took the piece of paper and saw, to his horror, that it did indeed have his mother's signature.

"Dear god..." he looked up to his apparent father, "Doesn't mean I hate you less. You ruined my life."

Xehanort shrugged, "My offer still stands. Wake up Ventus, will you? I still have some information to get from him." Merlin sent an explosion of light out of his body and the Organization vanished, the birth certificate still in Merlin's hand as the warlock began to tremble. Arthur walked up to him, "Hey...are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Merlin said bitterly, "I only knew Balinor for two days, and Gaius was the one to tell me he was my father, and it was only the day of our quest. It's not like my whole life was a lie or anything. And it doesn't change my feelings for him either. So, let's go and I'm going to beat the shit out of one King Mickey for not telling us about Aqua."

They got back to the Mysterious Tower with Ventus begin carried by Arthur while supporting Merlin's weight for the most part. Turns out Merlin could, but wasn't used to, using so much magic at a time—thank you living in a place where magic is punishable by death—so he needed to build up a magical endurance, hence why forcing twelve people to teleport to another world left him exhausted.

Riku saw them and ran up to them, followed by Kairi, Lea and Mickey, "You're back!"

Lea looked upon Ven's body in alarm, "Roxas?!"

"No. Ventus." Merlin said, his eyes flashing gold and Mickey got flung into the tower wall. He got up from Arthur's support and shakily began walking towards the mouse king, gaining more strength with each step—probably angry adrenaline. He bent down and seemed to be force-choking Mickey, "Why didn't you tell me you found and _abandoned_ Aqua?"

Mickey looked at Merlin in horror, "You...you know?!"

"Yes!" Merlin snapped, "I've been going down to that hellhole for eleven years! And you abandoned her and left her to become a vessel for Xehanort!" Suddenly, Merlin laughed, a snapped, maniac cackle, "Did you know Aqua and I were the only ones who could get Ven's body? Arthur and I just barely beat the Organization to him! We almost lost Ven because you abandoned her!"

"It's not his fault!" Riku insisted, and Merlin looked up to the white-haired youth. Riku took a breath, "Mickey didn't abandon her. They were almost to the exit, but I was there as well, as you know, the Heartless attacked me and Aqua blocked it, only to get swept deeper into the realm. She sacrificed herself to save me. I'm just as angry as you for Mickey not telling me, but we did go looking for her, only...it was too late. I swear on my life, we will do everything we can to get her back!" During that speech, Merlin began tearing up, letting go of Mickey; the exhausted warlock was sobbing at this point,

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He kept repeating and everyone saw what was really there: a child forced to grow up too fast, someone rarely loved and lost the ones who did.

Arthur handed Ventus' comatose corpse to Lea, and bent down beside his sobbing friend, letting him latch on. Had this happened three days ago, he would have thought this proof magic was evil and had him executed, but he himself had seen what went down, Merlin had every right to lose his shit after so long keeping it bottled up. Arthur saw Merlin's wayfinder begin to glow and the king knew what to do. He ran his hands through Merlin's hair and began to sing,

" _Come stop your crying, it will be alright_

 _Just take my hand, hold it tight_

 _I will protect you from all around you_

 _I will be here, don't you cry"_ Merlin seemed to calm, and Arthur continued, tears in his own eyes,

"For one so small, you seem so strong,

 _My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm_

 _This bond between us, can't be broken,_

 _I will be here, don't you cry_

 _'Cause you'll be in my heart_

 _Yes, you'll be in my heart_

 _From this day on_

 _Now and forever more_

 _You'll be in my heart_

 _No matter what they say_

 _You'll be here in my heart, always."_

By this time, Merlin had fallen asleep in Arthur's arms and he picked up his little brother, carrying him to their room and placing him on the bed, only for Merlin's grip to tighten. Arthur just sighed and climbed into bed with him, seeing Merlin had decided he was a better pillow than the actual pillow. He just smiled at the form resting on his chest, realizing how much their friendship had grown in the last two days, had this happened in Camelot—even without the magic—he wasn't sure what he would have done, but it definitely wouldn't have been this, "Always." He fell asleep after a minute, and soft snores filled the silent room.

Neither of them noticed the spirit-like version of Ventus smiling at them from the other side of the room.

 **A/N: Imaginary points to whoever can guess the song Arthur sang.**

 **Also, the idea of Merlin being Xehanort's son has been stuck in my brain since DDD, when Young Xehanort's eyes glow right before fighting Riku. But I decided to make the reveal as awkward as possible with needing to pull out a birth certificate.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 6: Mirakeylous**

 **A/N: Yes, I made a pun, and yes, I hold no shame.**

Merlin woke up and found himself laying on the sleeping form of the King of Camelot. He wondered why for a few seconds, before the events of the previous day came crashing down on him. Who knew your life could get turned on its heel in the span of twenty-four hours? Wait, that had happened a lot in the last week. Aqua was evil; Xehanort was his honest to god father, which meant he hadn't been kidnapped and Xehanort had merely taken custody, which, judging by the fact his mother had been teaching him to fear and constantly reminded him she could have suffocated him as a child, may have been a good thing—which he would never admit until now. Not to mention Arthur somehow knew the song Ven used to sing. Ven had said his own mother would sing that song when he was younger and upset, but Merlin himself had never even referenced it since _that_ day—he had reminded Ven of the song in his attempts to give him his memory back—so how did Arthur know? He smiled as he realized the answer: Ven. They had his body and then suddenly Arthur knows a song only a collective of five people knew, three of which weren't even there.

He still wondered what he was doing sleeping on top of Arthur as though he was a pillow, so he decided to ask, he shook Arthur awake, "Rise and shine!"

Arthur blinked awake and seemed to go through the same mental process Merlin had a minute prior, before focusing on Merlin, "Good morning, feeling better?"

Merlin nodded, "Yeah. Thanks." He noticed they were both still in their clothes, not their pajamas, "What happened?"

"You fell asleep after I managed to calm you down, thank you glowing wayfinder, so I brought you to our room, only for you to subconsciously decide you wanted to use me as a pillow, so here we are."

Merlin grinned as he realized his theory on Ven had been confirmed, "Let's go see if Sora's back. We have Ven's body and mind, but we still need his heart for him to wake up."

They got up—or tried to as they had become entangled with the sheets and promptly fell over—and went to the kitchen for breakfast, which was an amusing experience as Arthur was introduced to the fridge, stove and microwave and Merlin ended up telling a tale about the YouTube channel the four of them had for munny, one such video involved putting Christmas lights in a microwave and how the whole mountain nearly exploded. Then they were told by the master to never mess with anything remotely explosive again, which lead to overanalyzing pop-culture and buying and testing out a bunch of random shit; not to mention the Barbie in a waffle iron then fire pit incident.

Arthur laughed, "You better not put sauna pants on me." That had happened, and Terra nearly got his balls fried.

"Nah." Merlin said, "I'd wait for Ven for that kind of thing."

They had cheerful conversation for the next half hour as they enjoyed some pancakes and discovered they were the only ones up as they were the only ones used to getting up at dawn.

"So," Merlin said after Arthur finished his fifth pancake, "let's go see where they put Ven."

They walked through the tower and found Ven's body resting in a bed on the far end of the tower, with his hands resting over his chest. Merlin laughed and Arthur looked to him questioningly, so he explained, "Back on our adventure a couple days before...that...a encountered a girl, Snow White, who was stupid and not only let a creepy old lady into her house, but ate the food she was forcefully given and ended up in a coma due to incompetent poison—really though, _I've_ been poisoned better—and the seven men she lived with rested her on a bed in this fashion. Apparently Ven went through a similar situation with a girl named Aurora. I've always joked Ven was a bit of a princess, but this is just ridiculous." Arthur joined into his laugher and Merlin removed his hands from his chest and merely rested them at his sides, "There."

"I see you found Ventus."

They both turned and saw Yen Sid walking up to them. Merlin bowed, and Arthur followed, still overwhelmed by the fact Merlin held no sarcasm, "Good morning, Master."

Yen Sid nodded and looked down at Ven, "Sora has yet to return, though he has been alerted; it seems he is trying to revive Roxas, because he has found a way."

Merlin nodded, "So, what do we do until then?"

"I suggest you two go to other worlds and power up, and Merlin, regain your magical endurance, you're going to need it."

Merlin looked to his brother and found Arthur looked like a child in a candy store...that was also a toy store, "Let's go then." He turned back to Yen Sid, pointing to Ven, "Guard him with your life, he holds valuable information Xehanort wishes to get his hands on."

Yen Sid nodded, and the two brothers left the tower, Merlin summoned his Keyblade glider, "Okay Arthur, you try." They had used Merlin's before to get back from Castle Oblivion, so it was Arthur's turn now.

Arthur summoned his blade and took a breath nervously, throwing it backwards like he had seen Merlin do, and was shocked to find his Keyblade glider, it was a hover-board like Merlin's. Merlin grinned, "That was fast." They activated their armor.

Arthur looked around the lanes between in awe. He hadn't gotten a good look when escaping Castle Oblivion, but this was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

They looked around at worlds until Arthur stopped at one, "Miracular?"

Merlin looked as well and even though he couldn't see his face, he knew his brother was grinning, "AN old friend of the master's lives here. He's the guardian of the Miraculous—magic jewelry that turn people into superheroes."

Arthur flew over to Merlin, "Can we please go there! That sounds like so much fun!"

Merlin gasped, because Arthur had said please and was still alive. He had honestly concluded Arthur was cursed to never say 'please' or 'thank you' lest he die a horrible death. Turns out he had just needed to show off his potential to be a badass, "Alright. Only because you said please."

They found themselves in a strange building with a bunch of people surrounding a catwalk. Arthur blinked and turned to Merlin, only to find his brother looked at least seven years younger, he looked like he did when they first met, other than the clothes; also, his armor plate was gone, but Arthur saw a cuff on the warlock's wrist that looked like the armor,

"You're younger!"

Merlin nodded, "So are you. Sometimes my magic will activate and blend us in. Hence why our armor became these bracelets and we both are now roughly fourteen." His eyes flashed, and he turned back to Arthur, "I just checked for the events of this world. So, let's get to the point," he pointed to a girl with blue hair in pigtails, "That is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, she is a wannabe fashion designer and the current Ladybug superheroine." He pointed to a blonde haired, green-eyed boy walking across the catwalk, "That is Adrien Agreste, famous supermodel for his father's fashion company and the current Cat Noir, Ladybug's partner. Neither know who the other is and walked themselves into a love square. Currently we are at a fashion show where Adrien is modeling the hat Marinette designed a couple months back. But a fashion critic, Audrey Bourgeois, had been taken down a notch by Gabriel's assistant and is probably going to become akumatized; meaning the local villain, Hawk Moth, will possess her and turn her into a supervillain, and I can only guess she'll pull the move all evil sorcerers do on our world and go after the son, Adrien in this case, because of it."

Not even ten seconds later, a puff of golden smoke came into existence and a woman appeared in her place. She had sparkling, bright golden skin. She wore sunglasses with dark shades over her eyes, and her head appeared to have pulled-back gilded hair in the style of a crown with five black pointed stones attached around the front. Her suit was a golden leotard designed with vertical strips of cloth, with a black strap on her left shoulder and pointed black edges around each leg. She had medallion high heeled boots and held a long-gilded staff, having a bud-shaped tip with a black chevron line around it on top.

Everyone seemed scared as the woman scoffed,

"A fashion show without the queen of style?! Glitteraly unacceptable!"

Arthur whispered to Merlin from the pillar they were hiding behind, "I take it her name is Style Queen, or something like that."

"Yeah." They continued to listen to Style Queen rant,

"Where is that ungrateful Gabriel Agreste? I demand he kneels before me!"

Adrien glared at her and Arthur found himself impressed at how this kid had no fear; sure, he was a superhero, but this person was going after him and his father; so he was either borderline suicidal, or had a phenomenal poker face. "My father isn't here!" He snapped, and he sounded annoyed and bitter, not a trace of fear in his voice.

Style Queen shrugged, "Well, if fashion disaster daddy isn't here, I'll just have to settle for Agreste Jr! You're fired!" Style Queen shot a golden ray at Adrien, and before Arthur could react, Merlin had thrown a red and gold mask at him and jumped between the blast and Adrien, using his magic to block it, and Arthur saw he was wearing his own mask in silver and blue,

"Hate to be _that_ guy, but you can't fire someone who doesn't work for you." Merlin turned to Adrien, "Get out of here! Now!"

Arthur decided to help and ushered the civilians out, seeing Adrien run in another direction. Style Queen laughed, "What do we have here? Someone who disobeys me. You're fired!" She fired her scepter again and Merlin expertly dodged by doing an awesome back-hand-spring, which made Arthur wonder how much of a badass Merlin truly was—he had wondered this many times over the years, but usually brushed it off...not anymore.

That was when Ladybug arrived. She was wearing a red skintight bodysuit covered in black spots and with a black collar. On her face was a red mask with five black spots that were in a symmetrical design, and the waterlines of her eyes were colored black. Her earrings were red with five black spots in a quincunx pattern and the bands holding her hair back become red ribbons. Arthur could tell Merlin was right in saying the girl was Marinette.

Then Cat Noir arrived from where Adrien had run off to; he was wearing a textured black skin-tight catsuit with metal details. He had on matching gloves with claws on the fingertips and boots with a hidden wedge, silver toes, and paw-shaped treads. He had a golden bell on his neck, connected to a zipper on the front of his costume, and a long belt that wrapped around his waist and hung out from the back like a tail. He also had black cat ears and a black mask around his eyes. His eyes had become cat-like with green sclerae, dark green irises, and oblong pupils. His hair also became longer and untamed, covering his normal ears. His transformation made it harder to spot his secret identity, but not by much.

He was brought from his musings as his Keyblade summoned itself and weird creatures surrounded them. They were like Heartless, except that had a different symbol and the smaller ones were blue with red eyes. Merlin looked to them in panic,

"Unversed! Get back!" He sliced at them with his Keyblade, dodging Style Queen's blasts and the growing number of Unversed.

Ladybug and Cat Noir looked to Merlin and Arthur, started as they followed the example in fighting these creatures,

"What are these things?" Ladybug asked Merlin.

"Unversed! They're monsters that revolve around negative emotion. The problem is when they're defeated, all their energy flows back into their creator, one of my enemies, Vanitas. We need to go!"

"No way!" Cat Noir said, "We can take them, right Bugaboo?'

"Now's not the time for jokes, Cat! These two seem to be the experts!" Ladybug said as she wiped out five Unversed with her yoyo.

"No!" Merlin insisted, "I meant my brother and I need to go, we need to go to Master Fu and get a Miraculous! We'll be back!" He began dragging Arthur along.

They ran away, down the street and into an apartment complex with a massage shop, "Merlin," Arthur asked, "why did we abandon them, they need help!"

"Yeah." Merlin agreed, "But to defeat an akuma, we need a Miraculous. They can handle themselves for the time being, they know what to do until then." They entered the massage shop and Arthur saw a short old man turn to face them,

"Merlin! It's been a long time, my child. I feared you were lost like Eraqus and the others." Arthur was never going to get used to the sight of Merlin bowing, "I was not lost, Master. But we are here on this world to help, but we need a Miraculous."

Master Fu nodded and held up his bracelet. It was a light green stone shaped like a turtle, with a black string tied through holes in the turtle's head and tail to make a loop. The stone had six triangular carvings on its shell, along with carvings on the edges of the shell. Then a being appeared, it was a small, light green creature, about 10 centimeters tall. His appearance included yellow sclerae, green eyes, and an antenna on his head.

"I will permit you to use my Miraculous while you stay on this world." Master Fu said, handing it to Merlin.

Merlin smiled, "May I have one for Arthur?"

Master Fu sighed, "Unless he wants to use a hair-comb, I do not have one that is not being used. The peacock has been lost for so long..."

Merlin's eyes flashed gold and he stood still for a moment, before blinking out of existence. Arthur jumped in surprise to find his brother nowhere, only for Merlin to come back with a brooch in his hand. It looked like a peacock with the shape of a peacock's body and head at the bottom center and with nine light sea-green tail feathers coming out from it.

"Found it." Merlin said triumphantly, and Master Fu gasped,

"How...?"

"I'm Emrys, the most powerful being that has and ever will walk this _universe_ , it wasn't too hard. It was in the safe of Gabriel Agreste."

Master Fu continued to stare and gestured for Merlin to put it on. Merlin handed the bracelet to Arthur, who put it on, and chipped the brooch to his jacket, where the zipper connected at the top. Then a creature like the green one appeared, only this one was deep blue. She—at least Arthur assumed it was a she—had a small pale crimson circle on the center of her forehead, and her eyes were pale crimson with dark blue sclerae. Her tail, reminiscent of that of a real peacock, contained five feathers. The eyes of the feathers were pale crimson, with a black interior and a dark blue exterior.

She looked around, before her vision rested on Merlin, "Oh. Hello, I'm Duusu."

Merlin waved, "I'm Merlin."

"There we go." The green creature said, facing Arthur, "Now to transform, you say: Wayzz, shell on!"

Arthur nodded, deciding he was in way over his head and would just listen and obey, "Wayzz, shell on!" The transformation was instant and Arthur felt his clothing change. He looked in the mirror and took in his appearance. He had on dark green bodysuit and a green mask with black edges, and underneath the suit, he had a black collar. On his suit, he had six hexagon-shaped light green circles on his chest, and he had dark gray hexagon-shaped protective pads on his shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees. The Turtle Miraculous was on his right wrist. And he wore dark green boots with dark gray outsoles. On his back, he carried a shield that was dark green on one side and light green on the other.

"Wow." Arthur breather, "That's amazing."

Merlin smiled, agreeing, and turned to Duusu, "What do I say?" Duusu spun in midair, "You say: Duusu, feathers out!"

"Duusu, feathers out!" Arthur saw a bright flash and took in his brother's appearance. Peacock—for lack of better name, seriously, there are so many for females and so little for males—had on a turquoise mask with a steel chip on top of his nose to give the impression of a beak. The brooch was in the center and almost looked like it was a part of the suit. The outfit was turquoise with a sea-green sash that looked like a peacock tail, with actual feathers in the back. The edges of the collar and the tops of his upper arms had black lines, and his forearms and lower legs were the sea-green color with a black line halfway down his calf to give the impression of the sea-green being boots, with the soles of his feet being black. In his hand was a peacock-feather fan.

Arthur laughed, "And now you are more of a bird than your name implies."

"Shut up." Merlin looked in the mirror, taking in his costume, "Okay!"

OoOoO

They got back to find Ladybug and Cat Noir still battling Unversed, only Style Queen was nowhere to be seen.

Peacock turned to Carapace—as Master Fu had explained the name was—and the two nodded to each other before diving in, Keyblades and special weapons in hand. Peacock felt himself go up a level and could only imagine how many Carapace was going up.

He spun on his heel, using the fan to slice through Unversed and suddenly they were all gone. Ladybug and Cat Noir fell to their knees, panting.

"So... many..." Cat Noir panted, turning to Ladybug, who merely nodded in agreement. Peacock pulled two potions out of his bag and handed one to each hero, both staring at Peacock and Carapace in shock, before drinking the potion as though they were dying of dehydration. They both bounced up as their health increased.

"Thanks." Ladybug said, taking in their saviors, "I take it you two are the ones from before."

Carapace nodded, "Yeah. My brother here managed to find the Peacock brooch in the safe of Gabriel Agreste and teleported back, it was quite impressive." They both saw Cat Noir's expression change to one of either horror or shock, but went back to grateful when Ladybug turned to look at him

"Anyway, we need to go find Style Queen! Ladybug said suddenly, "Her scepter turns the things they hit into statues!" She gestured around the room where a couple Unversed were glittery gold statues, "And she's after Gabriel and Adrien Agreste!"

Peacock nodded, "I saved Adrien the first time, I know full well who she's after. But don't worry about Adrien, I got him far away from here." He winked playfully at Cat Noir and he looked panicked, then immensely grateful, mouthing 'thank you'.

Ladybug didn't notice and began running off, "But we need to save Gabriel!"

The three male heroes looked to each other, before following her.

OoOoO

They made it to the mansion in under five minutes, Ladybug beating them all. Carapace was panting and muttering about how badly out of shape he was when the gates to the mansion opened. They walked in and Carapace saw a man he could only assume was Gabriel Agreste on the top step.

Gabriel was tall with combed-back light blond hair and blue eyes. He had black-framed silver glasses and a white dress shirt underneath a silver vest with red buttons and a cream-colored dress jacket, along with a red-and-white striped tie. He also had red dress pants and white shoes with red laces. What Arthur found most interesting was that on the middle finger of his left hand, he had a silver ring, a wedding ring; but judging by the large painting behind him of merely himself and a depressed-looking Adrien, there was no wife. Maybe she was dead.

He shuttered at the thought, having no mother was something he hated about himself and didn't wish it upon anyone, especially someone like Adrien, who seemed like plenty a nice person.

Gabriel just stared at them dryly, before taking in Peacock's appearance and Miraculous and looking both parts horrified and engaged, before he calmed and Carapace wondered what it was with Agrestes and only showing their emotions for a second at a time.

"Ladybug, Cat Noir...who are your friends?"

Ladybug smiled kindly and gestured to Carapace and Peacock, "These are our friends, Carapace and Peacock. But that's irrelevant, you're in terrible danger! Style Queen is after you and your son! Peacock got Adrien to safety, but we still need to worry about you!"

Gabriel scoffed, though the relief in his eyes at the knowledge his son was safe was present, "I will tell you the same thing I told you during the Simon Says incident, I will never be dictated by a madman."

Cat Noir was clearly trying to keep his cool, "And I will remind you that you are in danger like everyone else so stop pretending you're above us all and do what we say!"

Peacock turned to Cat Noir, clearly impressed, then back at Gabriel, "He may have beat me to it; but he said it, not me."

Gabriel glared at him and they all knew why, he had stolen something from him, but that shouldn't be the main issue,

"Look, I know Peacock stole the Miraculous from your safe," Ladybug said, "But he's being a huge help and has already saved our skins and that of your son, repeatedly at this point, so how about you let it slide for the moment."

Gabriel sighed, "Fine. But I can handle myself, focus on Adrien. I would rather not have my son killed by the weird little monsters running around."

Peacock looked up to Gabriel, "Go to your panic room or wherever safety room you have and stay there." In reality, Peacock just felt uncomfortable with this man. It was almost like something was blocking him, Merlin's magic couldn't even sense him.

Gabriel just rolled his eyes and walked into his office, while the four heroes left the mansion, only to be surrounded by Unversed and Heartless.

"Ugh." Cat Noir groaned, "I'm getting really tired of these Unversed. And what are these?"

"Heartless." Peacock said, "Do not let them anywhere near your heart, they will rip it out and I don't want to go through the process of killing your Heartless and Nobody to bring you back."

The group took down the Heartless and Unversed, Peacock and Carapace using their Keyblades to heal their companions.

They worked their way to the Eiffel Tower, where they saw not only Style Queen, but a woman in a black dress with horns atop her head—if he remembered correctly, Ven had said her name was Maleficent, and the description Riku gave him fit the bill—as well as who he recognized as Pete, they were conversing.

"Hey!" Carapace shouted, getting the attention of three, who turned to face him. Pete looked like he had been told a funny joke, laughing and all,

"Well, look who the cat dragged in. Not talking about you, Cat boy. Merlin and Arthur! Turns out you both have some spunk." He gestured to Style Queen, "So Style Queen here is going to beat you."

Peacock glared and whipped out his fan, "Fight me, Pete. Though I am glad you stopped talking in the third person."

Maleficent chuckled, "Well, I'm not going to waste myself on you, not yet at least. I know better from watching you fight. But that doesn't mean I won't unleash my Heartless upon you. Take them, but bring the bird boy to me." With that, she and Pete vanished in a corridor of darkness.

Style Queen looked at them judgmentally, "This will be easy."

Ladybug just groaned, "Let's get this over with."

They began battling the Heartless and Style Queen, which was not how Arthur or Merlin imagined this day to go; still, things were going fairly well. But then Ladybug was attacked by one of the fiery Heartless and before it unleashed hell on here, Cat Noir ran at it, "Cataclysm!" It disintegrated, but his ring began to beep.

"Go recharge your kwami!" Peacock called, "We'll keep them busy!"

Cat Noir nodded and ran off, while Peacock, Carapace and Ladybug worked to keep Style Queen from following, and it worked, since it seemed she glittery villainess needed to know where she was going to teleport.

But then Style Queen threw Ladybug backwards with her staff and sent the heroine flying. She walked over to Ladybug, ready to turn her to gold, and Peacock and Carapace were too preoccupied to do anything.

"Nasty bug." Style Queen sneered, "You're fired!"

"No!"

They all turned and saw Adrien, not transformed, had thrown himself in front of Ladybug, now a statue of gold.

"Adrien! No!" Ladybug cried as Style Queen looked confused, but smug.

Peacock saw the Cat kwami, and ran over, pocketing the creature in a mini bubble which he turned invisible and kept at his hip where the fan would go.

"That's not good." Carapace said worriedly.

"Well then," Style Queen smirked, "I guess Agreste Jr. has fallen right back into my hands." She touched the statue and vanished in a puff of glittery smoke, the Unversed following.

Ladybug stalked up to Peacock and Carapace, who were looking to each other in alarm, "You said you got him somewhere safe!" She roared, causing Peacock to throw his hands up in surrender,

"I thought I did! He must have come back! Which means he needs to run at _least_ thirty-five miles an hour to have gotten here. Not to mention the extra five to have gotten here in a dress suit! That means that kid could run faster than the current fastest runner on this world! Humans are capable of running at forty miles an hour, but I didn't think he'd be able to do it! That kid must do some serious workouts." He actually meant how fast Adrien would have needed to be to have intercepted that blast, but Ladybug didn't need to know that.

She didn't seem to question it and got a dreamy look in her eyes, "That's Adrien..." She snapped back to reality, "But we need to find him!"

"On it." Peacock said, his eyes flashing gold as he scoured the world in search of Adrien, only to find nothing, he smirked, "That's easy."

"What?" Carapace asked.

"Adrien and Style Queen are on the Eiffel Tower." Peacock teleported them up there and found an alter with a statue-like version of Adrien laying there. Peacock put his hands on his face, "Oh god...so much Deja vu...it burns…" He walked up to the alter to reverse the spell, when Carapace flew at him and ducked them both out of the way of a blast from Style Queen.

"Not so fast, children." Style Queen said, "He's mine."

"Woah lady," Carapace said, "That's kidnapping, and is frowned upon in most common society."

"Not that your guards ever stopped it."

"Shut up."

"Feccan me seÌ‚ akuma." Peacock muttered quietly, and the rose that was in Adrien's mouth flew into his hand. Style Queen gasped and sent a blast at him, only for it to be blocked by Peacock's fan; because logic, what's that. The bird-hero handed the rose to Ladybug, "Do your thing LB!"

Ladybug snapped it and purified the akuma, "Miraculous Ladybug!" Little ladybugs flew around and turned everything back to normal. Adrien sat up, rubbing his head,

"What happened?" He murmured.

"Shell off."

"Feathers in."

Merlin and Arthur handed their Miraculouses to Ladybug and Merlin helped Adrien to his feet, feeling something he hadn't felt in a long time: a heart of pure light. He decided to ask Yen Sid about that later.

"You ran at the speed of a panther and sacrificed yourself to save Ladybug." He smirked and ruffled the model's hair, "Arthur and I will leave you too it." He nodded to Arthur and waved to the two teens. The two of them threw their Keyblades into the air. They waved again and flew out of the world.

 **A/N: Yes, Miraculous Ladybug. My little sister paid me twenty bucks to do this and it just turned into word vomit.**

 **And just to explain, I do not write these chapters at the speed of light, I have the ones I've already published already written for a while.**

 **Guys, I checked the number of views of this fic, and I fell out of my seat, screaming. There were 90 last time I checked and I could not be happier. I honestly thought this story would never be found because there was only one other in this crossover section-but that story is a good one, go check it out-and the idea I am not the only one to see this crossover as a fun idea. That, or I'm just good at clickbait. :) Either way, thank you guys for reading my word vomit.**

 **I'll admit, the whole idea of this story came from me waking up in the middle of the night and unable to go back to sleep until I wrote down the idea, then it spiraled from there as I replayed the games and rewatched the shows, (i.e. the Star Wars cliché with Merlin and Xehanort... or you could say Thanos and Gamora...).**

 **Also, the idea of someone drawing a cover art would be amazing, I would, but still lack creative talent in anything other than writing fanfiction.**

 **And please review! Reviews are my Curaga while fighting the zodiac phantom that is my normal life.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Ventus**

Merlin and Arthur didn't bother to stop on their way to the way to the Mysterious Tower. They landed and began to converse,

"What was all that mumbling about Princesses of Heart? Do you mean Kairi?" Merlin had been muttering about pure lights, trying to figure out how Adrien had a heart of pure light naturally.

"No." Merlin replied, "I could tell his light was powerful, very powerful, but I didn't think it was possible for him to have a pure light. Because either someone's born like that or it happens forcefully like Ven and Vanitas. If he truly was born with a heart of pure light like I'm led to believe, he could grow to be in grave danger."

They entered the tower and Yen Sid looked surprised to see them.

"You're back sooner than expected."

Merlin nodded, bowing, "We have a situation and need to have some confirmation."

"What is it?" Yen Sid asked.

"Is it possible for anyone other than the seven princesses to naturally have a heart of pure light?" Merlin asked and Yen Sid looked worried.

"I don't think so...why?"

"It is possible. Because there are a new seven lights." They all whirled around and saw a boy with spiky brown hair and blue-green eyes. Behind him was a boy who looked like an older version of Ven. He was wearing the Organization cloak.

That was when Lea came in with Riku and gasped, "Roxas!" Lea ran over at the speed of fricking light, hugging the young teen, "I never thought I would see you again."

The Ven clone, Roxas, hugged back, "I'm so glad to see you Axel."

"It's Lea now."

Roxas chuckled, "It will always be Axel to me."

Lea rolled his eyes, "Fine."

Riku took a shaky breath and walked up to Roxas, "Roxas...I—" he was cut off by Roxas' finger to his lips,

"It's okay, Riku. You only wanted to help your friend."

Arthur turned to Merlin, who had tears in his eyes, "You're thinking about a reunion with Terra, Aqua and Ven, aren't you?"

Merlin gave a watery smile, "Maybe a little."

Sora looked away from his safe-to-say brother, and turned to Merlin, "One down, one to go." Suddenly he lurched and looked up with more desperate eyes, his voice sounding younger, "I can't stay here anymore. I can't be alone..." he broke down and Merlin held him,

"Ven...it's okay. Everything will be okay."

Sora gasped and looked up to Merlin, "I-It happened again...didn't it?"

Merlin nodded, taking Sora's hands in his, "Come with me."

He led Sora to the room Ven's body rested in. The brunette gasped, "Roxas...?"

"Ventus." Merlin said simply, setting Sora down. Arthur walked in as well, watching curiously as Merlin held Sora's hand again, "It's been a long time."

Sora looked confused than gasped, before beaming, "Riku and I kept out promises. To protect each other."

Merlin nodded, "So I've heard." he looked to Ven's body, "Do you want to do this? It's risky."

"My heart is a prison, as Xehanort said, Ventus needs to be free."

Merlin smiled sadly, "No. Xehanort is wrong. You _saved_ Ven, I know his heart was on the edge of oblivion and would have died if you hadn't saved him. Ven just gets stir crazy and needs human interaction." He summoned his Keyblade, "Last chance."

Sora didn't budge, "Do it."

Merlin turned to Arthur, "I need to enter his heart and forcefully pull Ven out, my body will go comatose, make sure I don't concuss myself." He sent a beam of light at Sora's chest and both of them began to glow before falling limp, Merlin crumpling into a heap in Arthur's arms as the king dove for the body.

Merlin blinked a couple times, looking around. He was back on Destiny Islands.

He looked around, Ven was nowhere, "Ven? Where are you?" Then he saw a figure on the crooked tree. He ran up there and saw Ven sitting there, holding his green wayfinder. He turned to Merlin, "You came for me."

"Yeah..." Merlin breathed. Ven was here. Talking to him. A part of him was afraid this would turn into one of his nightmares and Ven would laugh, becoming merged with Vanitas like he was before his coma; but then he walked closer, he needed to be here for his friend. He sat up on the tree and Ven continued, "I was afraid you wouldn't. Vanitas..."

"You and Vanitas are not the same, Ven."

"Yes... yes we are." Ven replied, "You hate Vanitas, but you and I both could have ended up like him. I remember everything, including Vanitas' memories. He was always in pain, and Xehanort told him the only way to be without it was to create the X-Blade. He tortured him...it makes what we went through look like nothing. Then the fear of death when you, Aqua and I destroyed the blade broke him even more." He looked to Merlin, meeting his eyes, "I'm scared you or I will end up like him. We already lost Terra and Aqua…"

"Don't talk like that." Merlin ordered in his best impression of Arthur, "Everything will be fine. We'll get Terra and Aqua back and defeat Xehanort. Ven...the last twelve years haven't been the same without you. Are you honestly going to stay here? Because it sounds like you are."

"God no." Ven said hastily, "I'm just embracing the fact we can speak privately here. Because what if Xehanort gets one of us? We know how to get the X-Blade, for real. And I don't know if I'd be able to keep it hidden if he threatened someone I care about, like you or Aqua or Terra."

"Sure." Merlin replied, "I feel the same. But no risk equals no reward." He chuckled grimly, "You're such a lemon when you have your memory."

"Watching everyone you care about die would do that to a person. You're no optimist either, I can tell."

Merlin exhaled, "That's true. But I still have hope." He held his hand out, "Let's go home. Since Arthur is the other half of my heart, I know for a fact that if we don't hurry, he'll panic and try coming in himself. And we all know how an apprentice doing that will go. Poor Sora, he's going to go into cardiac arrest. Though to be fair, he probably would have already."

Ven began laughing, "Let's go." He took Merlin's hand and the world went white.

Arthur was panicking.

For twenty minutes now, he had been waiting for Merlin to wake up. Quite frankly, seeing Merlin's body pale and unmoving was freaking him out. The other wielders had come in and all of them panicked at the sight before them. Apparently, Riku was supposed to be the one doing this, as he officially had the power of sleep. No, Merlin did it; and they all hoped nothing would go wrong.

Arthur made conversation with Roxas and Lea; Roxas was quite friendly and somewhat reminded Arthur of Merlin; Lea was still nonchalant and overjoyed at his friend returning. It was clear they too were panicked, but they were all remaining as calm as possible.

Suddenly, Sora began to gasp and they all turned to him as two glowing orbs left his chest; one flying towards Merlin's body and the other towards Ventus'. Sora then opened his eyes and rubbed his head in confusion.

Merlin opened his eyes and sat up, ignoring everyone and almost flying towards Ven, "Ven? Ven?!" He began shaking him, "Wake up!"

Ventus moaned, "Merlin, go back to sleep."

Merlin smirked playfully, and he flopped onto Ven's stomach, "I can't! The sky's awake, so I'm awake, so we have to play!" He said this in a suddenly child-like voice, his voice going up a few octaves.

Ventus opened his eyes slightly and shoved Merlin off, "Go play by yourself."

Merlin then summoned pancakes, his voice returning to normal, "I will eat all of these if you don't wake up in the next five seconds. Five, four, three, two—"

"Alright, alright!" Ventus opened his eyes and blinked a couple times, before realizing what was going on and this wasn't the Land of Departure, he beamed and lunged at Merlin, wrapping his arms around the warlock's neck. "Merlin!" He giggled and ruffled Merlin's hair, "In Sora's mind, you were still young. You're so old."

"Shut it, you." Merlin said with a laugh, "You're technically older than me. And I'm only twenty- two. But on the bright side, for me anyway, now Aqua will have a legitimate reason to continue babying you."

"NOOOO!"

 **A/N: That scene with Merlin waking up Ven was from the beginning of Frozen, but replace Anna with Merlin and Elsa with Ven and you'll see where I was coming from.**

 **Love you guys.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Return to Camelot**

After three days of Ventus recovering and getting used to being in a real body again, he was once again getting stir crazy; begging to go to a world.

Merlin had listened to Sora about Larxene—cue groaning from Lea—mentioning the next pure lights, but said nothing about it being strictly female, so Adrien Agreste could indeed be a pure light.

Merlin had also been trying to figure out a way to save Aqua and Terra. Then he remembered: Lingering Will! Terra's will was still in the Keyblade Graveyard! All they needed to do was get Terranort in the Keyblade Graveyard and—theoretically—boom! Problem solved.

Eventually, Ven's begging was getting more and more desperate, so Merlin gave up on keeping him safe and agreed to let him go to a world. So, Merlin, Arthur, and Ven were on their way back to Camelot.

They landed back in Camelot, with their normal clothes on—well, Ventus was wearing a green tunic and brown pants. They were in the clearing they had fought the Great Dragon in and Ven looked around, giddy with glee,

"This will hopefully be fun."

Arthur looked to the blonde master in fascination as the boy looked around, letting Merlin guide him by the hand and lead him to the city. Ventus was spinning around, drinking in every detail. "Arthur! Merlin!"

They all turned and saw the knights and Guinevere run up to them, the woman in the group hugging the two older men. Arthur kissed her passionately and Merlin subconsciously covered Ven's eyes, only for him to groan and laugh.

Gwen looked down at Ven, before turning to Merlin, "So the universe is saved?"

"No." Merlin said, "It's just the odds of survival are low, so we're tying up the loose ends."

"Who's the small blondie?" Gwaine asked.

Ven rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "My name is Ventus. Call me Ven."

Everyone gasped, shouting, "Ventus?!"

OoOoO

"Okay. Merlin." Leon said after a few hours of Arthur freeing magic, and the three Keyblade wielders changing back to their more mobile attire. "Magic is free, we all know you're a sorcerer, so please explain. Who is Ventus? When did you get your Keyblade? What happened to him? Who are Terra and Aqua? Who are Xehanort and Vanitas? How long have you had magic?"

Merlin sat down, Ven was pressed closed to him nervously. He had forgotten how shy Ven was when he had his memory. More reminders of betrayal. "You can trust them, Ven." Merlin said, realizing this was the first time he had been in a room with these people, having gone sightseeing with Merlin on Kilgharrah to pass the time. "These are my friends, they won't hurt you."

Ven nodded, smiling warmly, bowing slightly, "Thank you sirs. For caring for my friend all the years I was unable."

Merlin ruffled his hair, "No Ven, don't be so respectful; don't. You don't need to be shy—and don't try lying, I know you get respectful when you're nervous."

The knights, Gwen and Gaius just blinked at this interaction, before Gwaine pointed to the two, "He's sixteen at best, how could it have been 'all these years' since Merlin's lived in Camelot for six years, so this would to have been before."

"Oh. Yeah." Merlin ran a hand through his hair while Ven fidgeted, "Ven's the same age I saw him last, hasn't aged for twelve years."

"What?!" Came from everyone.

"This was during your kidnapping." Everyone turned to Gaius, "Wasn't it?"

"What?! You got kidnapped?!" Came from everyone accept Arthur and Ven.

Merlin nodded, then shook his head, "Actually, my father took custody of me. Never tell him, but I almost thank him. _Almost_."

"Balinor?" Gaius asked, earning an incredulous look from Leon.

"No. Xehanort, who I did think was my kidnapper until a week ago when he outright told me, showed me my birth certificate and I had a DNA test done to make sure the bastard wasn't lying."

Ven raised his hand reluctantly, "I actually knew that. Xehanort outright told me you were his son when he first brought you in, unconscious. I would have told you had I realized you didn't know...but then I got amnesia..." he trailed off and Merlin facepalmed, muttering about Xehanort and bloody murder.

Gaius looked at them both in shock, "No. Hunith told me Balinor was your father."

Merlin handed him the results of the DNA test, "Got this yesterday." Then he pulled out the birth certificate, "And this a week ago."

Gaius held it in his hands, "Father: Xehanort Mara..."

"Huh, Mara." Gwaine muttered, "Merlin Mara—"

"Don't you dare use my monster of a father's name. And Mara is Japanese for evil."

Elyan stared at him, "You speak Japanese?"

"Yup. Second language."

Elyan looked impressed, but before he could ask for a demonstration, Arthur facepalmed. "English please!" He shouted, pointing to Merlin and Ven, "I already had to listen to you two planning my wedding in German, Icelandic _and_ Spanish."

"We weren't planning _your_ wedding." Merlin said simply, "It was Terra and Aqua's. Old habits die hard. I will forever be the biggest TAqua shipper."

Percival just sighed, "We have no idea who you are or what you're saying. You just got more confusing, Merlin."

Merlin brought a computer into existence, "How about I just show you." He pulled up a file and groaned, "Keyblade stalks me. Creepy, but mildly useful when you can't explain shit." He sat there, pushing buttons in silence for just under three minutes, "Aha!" Merlin triumphed, "There. You watch this and Ven and I will be back in eight hours." He turned the computer and walked away, "Just press the 'enter' key when you're ready."

"Why aren't you staying?" Gwen asked.

"Too painful. That, and I've watched that so many times I can quote everything in a slow, mocking tone." He turned to them, "All give you all a hint. Not even my mother or Gaius know this story, because the pieces of my heart remain where they fell and only in these last six years have I even begun to pick them up." With that, he took Ven's hand and left.

Everyone turned to Gaius, "I really thought you would know." Arthur said, "And warning, Xehanort is a creepy old man. But don't underestimate him." He was about to press the button, before turning to everyone, and pulled some tissues out of a bag, "You'll need it. Merlin doesn't get dramatic unless it's bad." Then he pressed the button.

And the crying began.

OoOoO

Meanwhile, Merlin and Ven were trying to find Morgana's...living space? Neither knew what she lived in. A hovel? An abandoned manor? An abandoned castle? Cenred's former castle? A random basement? In Merlin's closet as a pocket dimension?

He walked aimlessly for a bit, until Ven rolled his eyes,

"Why haven't you telepathically called her yet?" Ven asked, crossing his arms with a laugh.

"Oh yeah, that sounds cheerful. 'Hello Morgana, I know you hate my guts and want to kill me and Arthur and literally everyone who doesn't want you to be Queen, but I really need you to tell me where you live so I can kill you. Oh yeah, I'm Emrys and a Keyblade Master.'"

"This is why you only had one girlfriend." Ven said.

"Am I wrong though? She'll rock my shit!"

"You've been through worse; having been set on fire, frozen, electrocuted—sometimes all at once—shot like a billion times, and you can't escape something dangerous when you go out. And let not forget run-ins with bandits, vampires, or wizards...sometimes wizard-vampire-bandits!"

"What are you two yammering about?!"

They both turned and saw Morgana with a basket, staring at them incredulously.

Merlin waved awkwardly, "Hey Morgana, good to see you." He summoned his Keyblade and shot her with a key-beam to the chest. She slumped over.

"Merlin...why didn't you do that before?"

Merlin just shrugged, he walked over to Morgana, "She's just asleep. What do I do now?"

"Um...Merlin, we came to kill her."

"Oh hell! You just went from zero to 'I want blood' in the span of five seconds! And isn't that frowned upon."

"You've killed before." Ven threw his hands up, "Just do what Xehanort did to me. And then immediately kill the chick Vanitas."

"Ven! NO! I do not want another Vanitas for even a second!" Then Merlin got another idea, he slammed his Keyblade into Morgana's chest. Her heart flew out of her chest and into a bubble. "There. I'll figure out the rest later." He picked up Morgana's body and shoved the bubble into his pack.

"Well, well, like father, like son."

A dark corridor appeared and a blonde bitch easily identifiable as Larxene walked out. She crossed her arms smugly, "Maybe you do belong in the darkness."

"Over my dead body!" Merlin snapped.

Larxene laughed, "Very well." Suddenly, they were surrounded by Heartless.

Merlin looked to Ven, "Run." They sprinted, Merlin using a portal to send Morgana's body to Radiant Garden, with a note saying â€˜Hi, she is crazy, but she won't wake up until I wake her. Keep her safe."

The Heartless were now a tidal wave, causing both masters to summon their gliders to get some traction.

 _This is not good._

OoOoO

Before Merlin and Ven got back, the group had just finished watching the fate of their dear friend and they were all sobbing their hearts out.

Gaius was enraged, "Hunith told me he got snatched from bed..."

"Those poor kids..." Gwen cried into Arthur's shoulder. Arthur held her hands as she cried some more, "What would Xehanort have done to Merlin had he not seen what he did to Ven...?"

"Well," Leon mused, "Merlin would have had no reason to not trust the man, probably would have had the father reveal earlier on, and he could have ended up like Vanitas." They all shuttered at the thought. Camelot would have fallen. Scratch that, the entire universe would have fallen.

Gwaine closed the computer, "So, what did we learn?"

"I'm a little worried if Merlin ever gets tired of and betrays us, we won't know until it's too late." Percival said.

Everyone shuddered at the thought.

"Well," Gaius added, "I learned Merlin did have a family, and I want nothing more than to see him so happy like he was there."

"I learned it's possible for Merlin to say he's good instead of fine." Gwen answered.

Arthur joined in, "I learned I want to kill Xehanort."

"Agreed." Came from everyone.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Merlin and Ven ran in. The former slammed the door shut, "We need to get the hell off this world." Merlin said simply, conjuring a corridor of light.

"Why?" Leon asked. Merlin just pointed out the window and they all saw a tsunami of Heartless.

"Oh hell!" Arthur exclaimed, his Keyblade summoning in his hand.

Merlin began ushering the knights, Gwen and Gaius into the portal. "Guys, this world is falling to darkness; there is nothing we can do. We need to go!"

"Hold on." Leon insisted, "We aren't just leaving and letting the people die!"

"They won't." Ven said, "Some will fall to darkness and some will get slingshot across the universe. But we will die if we don't get out of here." He shoved the knight into the portal.

They got everyone except Gwaine, Ven, Arthur and Merlin through, when the door blasted open.

Larxene laughed, "Trying to run away? That's not like the Merlin I've been told about. My, my, you have changed a lot."

Merlin summoned his Keyblade and was about to fight her, but Arthur pushed him back, followed by Gwaine.

"No Merlin, Ven, get out of here." Gwaine said, "Princess and I will fight."

"No!" Both Merlin and Ven shrieked as Larxene walked closer.

Ven forcefully dragged Gwaine through the portal. Merlin took Arthur's hand, "We go together, or we stay together." But that wasn't Arthur's decision as Merlin dragged him through the portal.

Merlin had taken them to the Mysterious Tower, when they all fell in a dog-pile as they flew through the portal.

Arthur groaned and rolled off Ven, who rolled off Elyan, who rolled off Gwen and so on and so forth until they were all blinking and looking around.

"Where are we?" Gaius asked in awe.

Merlin gestured for them to follow, "I need to report to Master Yen Sid, then we'll go to a world to show you the universe. But I also need to lure Xehanort out, so I can trick him into giving me Terra and Aqua."

"How would you manage that?" Leon asked worriedly. Ven grimaced,

"You're going to bribe him with the true way to get the X-Blade. Aren't you?"

"Yes." Merlin answered, "And I'm his son, he taught me to lie. Ergo, I have learned not to lie, but bend the truth. Technically, I do know how to get the damn thing, doesn't mean I'm really going to tell him."

"Did Lancelot know about this whole mess?" The words slipped out of Percival's mouth before anyone could stop him, "You were missing for a week after his death."

Merlin froze, a tear falling down his face, "He knew more than most. I can say that. But I didn't tell him most of it, unlike you guys, he knows two plus two is four. He figured it out on his own and I merely confirmed it. But...his death was hard for me, so I went back to the Realm of Darkness to clear my head."

"You went to literal hell to clear you head about grief?" Gaius asked incredulously.

"Hey, killing Heartless and otherwise being alone with slight hope of seeing one of your childhood friends again is quite nice." Merlin defended, "But it does suck after a week, when the hallucinations kick in."

Elyan frowned, "Please tell me that isn't normal. You don't just live down there half the time."

Arthur placed a hand on his face, "It's completely normal. Isn't it?"

"Yeah." Merlin sighed, "When Uther was being particularly an asshole, I needed to clear my head, there were no extra threats and I had time or when I lost someone; I would go and kill some Heartless." He took in their flabbergasted looks and groaned as they all walked up the long flight of stairs, "Oh come on guys, you've seen how Arthur gets when upset. He and I are literally yin and yang, so why wouldn't I need to take my rage out on beings of Darkness?"

Everyone just looked to one another as they realized just how broken their friends really was, Gwen was silently in tears, leaning on Arthur for support. One thing they had always been able to rely on, no matter the circumstance, was for Merlin to remain positive and cheerful; for Merlin to have truly been the most miserable and depressed out of all of them depleted their hope.

They entered the room and saw Yen Sid standing by the window, he turned to the young master in relief, "Master Merlin, the stars told me of your world's fall into darkness, I am glad you and your friends are alright."

Merlin bowed, and Arthur was pretty sure everyone watching went into shock from their dropped jaws and recoiled gasps; like it was a sign of the apocalypse. To be fair, it kind of was. "I am well Master." He looked up, "Should I take them to Radiant Garden or Traverse Town to stay until their world is restored?"

"How about you take them to a world, so they can see the true nature of light in the universe. But first take them to the three good fairies for new clothing."

Merlin bowed again, and Gaius literally felt his nephew's forehead as though Arthur hadn't done that as well. The raven-haired master just laughed and Ventus guided the group into the room where Flora, Fauna and Merriweather resided.

Gwen came out a few minutes later and Arthur was slack jawed at his girlfriend in modern attire. She was wearing a dark gray blazer with rolled up sleeves. The inside of the blazer was lined in white and had black trimming. Underneath, she wore a white t- shirt with black stitching. She also had on a hot-skirt and cherry-pink leggings, dark pink combat with dark red soles. Her curly hair was in a low ponytail down her back.

Gaius was next. He had on a green Hawaiian shirt with a white hibiscus flower pattern, tan capris pants and dark brown shoes.

Percival walked out in a white, short-sleeved shirt, and black jeans, ripped at the knee. He completed the outfit with a sky-blue jacket with a navy-blue hoodie underneath.

Elyan was next, with a grey t-shirt with a V-neck and jagged sleeves. Also, he wore a black belt with a dark gray buckle, and black boots with silver back heels.

Leon walked out in a purple shirt with two unbuttoned buttons at the top, a black over-shirt, gray jeans, and black boots.

Finally, Gwaine; always save the best for last. He was wearing a red hooded jacket, lined with pink material. Underneath was a multi-colored rainbow shirt. He also wore ripped, dark grey jeans, and black boots.

Everyone clapped as Gwaine struck a pose. Gaius was the first to speak,

"I'm going to stay here and look around in favor of going to other worlds. I am far too old." He looked to a smiling Yen Sid, "Is that alright?"

"Of course. I would love to hear more about Eraqus' little protege."

Merlin turned a suspicious shade of red and gestured for the others to follow, Ven waved goodbye, explaining that he was going to help train Lea and Kairi as well as find a way to bring back Terra and Aqua.

Merlin hopped in the Gummi Ship and the others followed. They sat in silence for a bit, with the group awing at the beauty, before Merlin spoke,

"So, do we go somewhere safe? Or will I find you somewhere dangerous if I don't watch you like children?"

"I want to go see another world!" Gwaine said cheerfully, "Who knows what kind of girls there are!" The knights all muttered their agreements while Gwen looked out the window with Arthur at all the worlds. It was clear Merlin hadn't driven these things for a while as he would lurch at times to prevent them from getting killed by a passing meteor.

Suddenly, Gwen pointed to a world with greenery on one side and fire on the other, "What's that?"

Merlin checked his radar, "Huh, Duloc. Sounds like fun. Let's go!"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I am so so sorry for the nearly two-month hiatus, writer's block is a bitch. It's funny in a way, I have the entire storyline thought through and edited, yet this chapter keeps coming back to haunt me. But it's mostly just a world and hearing more of Merlin's backstory in Ealdor and the road to recovery.**

 **Yup, Shrek. I don't give a fuck about sticking to Disney, this whole fanfiction ties into BBC! What's next? I'll be doing Orphan Black or Sherlock? (I'm kidding, halt your typing keys, if you're going to review, don't give me crap.)**

 **Warning- Mention of mature themes like depression, PTSD and other shit like that.**

 **Anyway, chapter 10, let's dive into it.**

 **Chapter 10: Stories, Depression and Darkness (oh yeah, there's a world too.)**

They landed on the world and registered they were in the greenery, right next to a mountain what looked very dangerous.

Suddenly, they all turned when they heard voices. The knights were all looking defensive, but instead they saw a green creature with a donkey, a talking donkey. They stopped when they saw the group of foreigners. The green creature groaned,

"Let me guess. Ahh! Ogre! Kill it!"

Merlin crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, "An ogre and a talking donkey. Not the strangest thing I've seen this week."

"What is the strangest thing you've seen this week?" Elyan asked.

"Arthur and I used magic jewelry to turn into animal-themed superheroes, which, while not the first time I've done it, still counts as strange. And my kidnapper is my father." He turned back to the ogre, "Hello!" He proceeded to introduce himself and the others, "May I ask what you and the donkey are doing here?"

The ogre groaned, "Donkey, you're rubbing off on them. I'm Shrek, and we are here to rescue the princess in that tower on top of the mountain and bring her back to Lord Farquaad, so I can get my swamp back."

Gwen beamed, "We can help you rescue the princess!" Arthur and Elyan stared at her in horror, causing her to shrug, "What? Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I don't want some adventure. Aqua got some and managed to survive in hell for twelve fricking years before getting turned evil, something that according to our world, should have happened within ten minutes or not at all as everyone would have taught her to be a housewife." Merlin just chuckled, knowing she was right.

Donkey beamed, "That's great! Because there's a dragon and lava." Merlin smirked, "Thankfully, I can control dragons. Let's go." He threw his head back and screamed into the sky, "O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd hupâ anankes!"

Everyone stared at him as a pink dragon flew down, Merlin smiled warmly and stroked her scales, "Hello. May you please take us to the princess?" The dragon looked angry for a second but looked into the Dragonlord's kind sapphire eyes caused the creature to relent and lower her wing, Merlin beamed, "Come on guys, she's safe."

Everyone, including Donkey and Shrek, looked to each other in worry, but did obey—as the group trusted Merlin's judgement and the other two saw this as an opportunity to not die.

They flew up the mountain, over the lava moat and right next to a tower. Arthur summoned his Keyblade and unlocked the window, so Shrek could climb in, wearing a helmet Merlin had fashioned in the event he was hit with a book or a frying pan.

They heard the sounds of talking, before they could tell he was taking her to the window,

"You didn't slay the dragon?" The princess shouted in horror.

"Don't need to, Princess." Shrek answered, "Raven over there can control it." Merlin waved at the mention of him.

Fiona screamed, "But this isn't right! You were meant to charge in, sword drawn, banner flying. That's what all the other knights did."

"Yeah, right before they burst into flames." Percival retorted, "We're sticking with Merlin."

"That's not the point." Fiona said, turning to Shrek, "What kind of knight are you?"

Shrek shrugged, "One of a kind." Donkey appeared from behind Leon,

"Hi, Princess!"

"It talks!"

"Yeah, it's getting him to shut up that's the trick." Shrek replied, dragging her onto the dragon, Gwaine wrapping an arm around her waist to keep her stable as Merlin gestured the dragon to fly them down to the edge of the woods.

The dragon landed, and Merlin pressed his temple to that of the dragon's "Thank you, Irsilth, you have done a great good. Now return home and rest."

The dragon, Irsilth apparently, flew away at his words and Fiona cheered,

"You did it! You rescued me! You're amazing. You're—You're wonderful. Thy deed is great, and thine heart is pure. I am eternally in your debt." She turned to Donkey, "And where would be a brave knight be without his noble steed?"

Donkey laughed, "Alright, I hope you heard that. She called me a noble steed. She thinks I'm a noble steed."

Fiona beamed, her fiery red hair now over her shoulder, "The battle is won. You may remove your helmet, good Sir Knight."

Everyone looked to each other, before Shrek answered, "Uh, no."

"Why not?" Fiona crossed her arms, glaring at everyone, "I wouldn't look upon the face of my rescuer."

"No, no, you wouldn't." Elyan said, earning a nod from Shrek and Donkey, because having lived in a very prejudice kingdom most of his life, he and the others cold take a guess as to her reaction.

"But how will you kiss me?" Fiona asked, causing Shrek to jump in shock,

"What? That job wasn't in the job description."

"Maybe it's a perk." Gwen shrugged.

"No, it's destiny." Fiona insisted, earning a scoff from Merlin. She glared at him, then softened, "Oh, you must know how it goes. A princess locked in a tower and beset by a dragon, is rescued by a brave knight, and then they share true love's first kiss."

Merlin frowned, and Donkey cocked his head, "Hmm? With Shrek? You think—Wait. Wait. You think that Shrek is your true love?"

"Well, yes." Fiona said, causing Arthur to lean closer to Merlin as everyone else began laughing,

"Merlin, what's wrong?"

"There's something about her. She seems to be wrapped in dark magic. It's not coming from her like her own power, but almost like a curse of some sort."

"Do you think she could be dangerous?"

"I don't know." They turned back to the conversation, where everyone, including Shrek, was laughing, and Fiona was not giving up on getting the helmet off,

"Let's just say I'm not your type, okay?" Shrek insisted.

"Of course, you are. You're my rescuer. Now remove your helmet."

"Look. I really don't think this is a good idea." Leon pleaded.

"Just take off the helmet."

Shrek shook his head, "I'm not going to."

"Take it off."

"No!"

"Now!" She screamed, causing everyone to jump back, and Arthur and Merlin's Keyblades summoning.

"Okay! Easy. As you command, Your Highness." Shrek removed his helmet and Fiona gasped,

"You—You're an ogre."

"Oh, you were expecting Prince Charming?" Shrek asked.

"Well, yes, actually." She ran her hands through her hair, "Oh, no. This is all wrong. You're not supposed to be an ogre." She looked around to the others, "One of you must be my true love." Arthur wrapped an arm around Gwen's waist and some knights backed up; Merlin literally turned himself invisible, and the only reason Arthur knew he was there and hadn't sprinted away was because of their connection, which only now did he realize was so strong; he could feel Merlin's presence.

Shrek groaned, "Princess, I was sent to rescue you by Lord Farquaad, okay? He's the one who wants to marry you."

"Well, then why didn't he come to rescue me?" Fiona snapped.

"Good question." Gwen muttered, "You should ask him that when we get there."

"But I have to be rescued by my true love," Fiona pleaded, "not by some ogre, his pet and a bunch of random people."

"So much for noble steed." Donkey said.

"Look, Princess." Shrek said dryly, "You're not making my job any easier."

Fiona sat down on a rock and crossed her arms with a 'humph' "Well, I'm sorry, but your job is not my problem. You can tell Lord Farquaad that if he wants to rescue me properly, I'll be waiting for him right here."

"Hey! I'm no one's messenger boy, alright. I'm a delivery boy." Shrek threw her over his shoulder and began walking as Fiona began screaming,

"You wouldn't dare. Put me down!"

Shrek turned to them, "Ya coming, guys?"

"I'm right behind ya." Donkey said, following the ogre. Everyone else just looked to each other.

"Do we go?" Percival asked Merlin.

Merlin watched the others leave, "Fiona has some sort of dark magic to her, I want to know if she's dangerous or not."

"Okay then."

Merlin threw his Keyblade into the air, turning it into a large hoverboard. Everyone sat down as it flew after the other three.

OoOoO

After a few hours of floating or hiking, along with Fiona rabbiting on about true love to the point Gwen had pulled out a dagger or Merlin had magically shut her up, she sighed, "The sooner we get to Duloc the better."

"Oh, yeah." Donkey agreed "You're gonna love it there, Princess? It's beautiful!"

Shrek put Fiona down, so she could walk. Merlin's hoverboard raised itself up, not liking her, "And what of my groom-to-be?" She asked, "Lord Farquaad? What's he like?"

The knights, Arthur, Gwen—who were on Arthur's own hoverboard—and Merlin all leaned in in interest,

"Well, let me put this way, Princess. Men of Farquaad's statue are in _short_ supply." Shrek said, laughing. Everyone could tell this was a sort of roast session.

"I don't know, Shrek." Donkey joined in, "There are those who think _little_ of him." They were both laughing now, but Fiona was clearly offended,

"Stop it. Stop it, both of you. You know, you're just jealous you can never measure up to a great ruler like Lord Farquaad. Tell them guys," she gave everyone on the hoverboards a pointed look. Arthur frowned,

"Don't look at us, we don't know anything about your fiancé."

"Yeah, well, maybe you're right, Princess." Shrek relented, "But I'll let you do the measuring when you see him tomorrow."

Fiona gasped, "Tomorrow? It'll take that long? Shouldn't we stop to make camp?"

"No, that'll take longer." Leon replied, "We can keep going."

"But there's robbers in the woods." Fiona pleaded, causing Donkey to agree with her, "Whoa! Time out, Shrek! Camping's starting to sound good."

"Hey, come on. I'm scarier than anything we're going to see in this forest."

"And I can command a dragon." Merlin said, now sitting in almost a cat-like position, but it was clear to anyone who knew him that he was doing this to test her into revealing why the dark magic was so close, "And my friends are all warriors, mighty knights. So why don't we keep walking. The moon in nice light and the sun is going down."

Fiona gasped at the setting son, "I need to find somewhere to camp now!" It was the same ferocity as when she was getting his helmet off. They all relented to her and not long after found a cave by the cliff,

"We can do better than that." Donkey insisted, "I don't think this is fit for a princess."

"No, no, it's perfect. It just needs a few homey touches." Fiona scurried off and Gwen frowned, "Homey touches? Like what?"

Fiona literally ripped off some tree bark and put it in front of the cave, "A door?" She began crawling in, "Well, gentlemen, I bid thee good night." Gwen frowned.

"You want me to read you a bedtime story? I will." Donkey said.

"I said good night." Fiona shut the door and Shrek subtly began sliding a boulder in front of the cave entrance.

"Shrek, what are you doing?" Percival asked, unsure of whether to stop him. Fiona had been rather horrible to be around.

Shrek laughed, but stopped pushing the rock, "I just—You know—Oh, come on. I was just kidding."

They started a campfire, ate a quick dinner of deer, Shrek and Donkey went to watch stars while the others sat over the campfire roasting s'mores.

"Mmm. Merlin, mate, you should have showed this to us a long time ago." Gwaine said, having gone through his fifth s'more. Everyone nodded their agreement and noticed Merlin wasn't fully paying attention, fiddling with a guitar; humming to himself. Gwaine suddenly grinned,

"Mate, do you play? Sing?"

Merlin looked up, "Oh, sorry. Just reminiscing old times. Campfires are a little nostalgic for me."

Gwen perked up and smiled, "Ventus is lovely. Tell us about some of the others. What did you guys do?"

Merlin was still holding his guitar, smiling sadly, "We did a lot of things, which went surprisingly well with our age differences, though I guess me having the IQ of someone five times my age helped that right along."

"How many times have you found problems in deals with witches?" Arthur asked.

"Many." Merlin answered, "The one time I didn't, and it came back to bite me, I went back and blew her up." Everyone winced.

"Remind me to never get on your bad side." Percival muttered, "Lancelot was right, looks are very deceiving with you. "

Merlin continued humming while watching Shrek and Donkey, before Gwen asked,

"Merlin, can you sing?"

Merlin looked up, "Am I able to, or will I?"

"Will you?"

Arthur and the other knights grinned to each other, they wanted this to happen just as much as Gwen did. Merlin sighed,

"I don't know..." He sighed, "I haven't truly sung in a long time. Last time was...with them."

"Tell us." Elyan said, "Get some things off your chest. We know about your magic and most of your past, there's no harm."

He relented with a distant smile, "Okay. It was three days before out Mark of Mastery exam," Merlin started, "We were out camping, because why not. We all sat around a campfire and the master got out his guitar, this one." He gestured to the guitar, "He started singing, and we all joined in. It was the last time the five of us did something as a family. We laughed and sang and told stories and joked about old times." He laughed sadly, "It was one of the best nights of my life."

"Do you remember the song?" Arthur asked. This wasn't the first time they had been told a story about Merlin's past, but it was the first time they heard any details; mainly because Merlin had been likely concussed when mentioning anything else. It had always been the one perk of the young warlock getting injured, because he would be less guarded when only half-lucid and would reveal tiny details like names and places that before they had all blamed on said concussion.

Merlin nodded, "Of course I do."

"Come on mate," Gwaine encouraged, "go ahead."

Merlin smiled, nodding. He began playing the guitar,

" _I have a dream, a song to sing_

 _To help me cope with anything_

 _If you see the wonder of a fairy tale_

 _You can take the future even if you fail_

 _I believe in angels_

 _Something good in everything I see_

 _I believe in angels_

 _When I know the time is right for me_

 _I'll cross the stream—I have a dream"_

His voice was enchanting, beautiful and harmonic; and they could tell he wasn't fully with them anymore either, as his eyes revealed he was back in the past.

They all joined in, following Merlin's melody and subtle cues.

" _I have a dream, a fantasy_

 _To help me through reality_

 _And my destination makes it worth the while_

 _Pushing through the darkness still another mile_

 _I believe in angels_

 _Something good in everything I see_

 _I believe in angels_

 _When I know the time is right for me_

 _I'll cross the stream—I have a dream_

 _I'll cross the stream—I have a dream"_

Merlin spent a moment just playing a melody, no words coming from his mouth. They then realized while he may not have sung in a long time, this was not the first time he had played this on a guitar. His eyes were closed, and a singular tear fell down his cheek, as his eyes opened gold and they saw the semi-transparent images of Eraqus, Ven, Aqua, Terra and a young Merlin sitting around the campfire—or Terra and Aqua were dancing together while Ven and Merlin were sitting on the logs, grinning like the children they truly were at heart. The group of memories joined in with adult-Merlin's voice,

" _I have a dream, a song to sing_

 _To help me cope with anything_

 _If you see the wonder of a fairy tale_

 _You can take the future even if you fail_

 _I believe in angels_

 _Something good in everything I see_

 _I believe in angels_

 _When I know the time is right for me_

 _I'll cross the stream—I have a dream_

 _I'll cross the stream—I have a dream."_

The song ended, and Merlin looked up, smiling sheepishly. The fire was the only source of light, but they could tell he was blushing.

"Why are you blushing?" Gwaine asked, "And when the hell did you learn to sing like a fricking angel?"

Merlin's blush only got brighter, "I...I don't. Hey, it's getting late, we should get some sleep. I put a barrier up, we can all sleep." He laid down, summoning a blanket, then he seemed to fall asleep.

Everyone looked to each other as they saw Merlin's breathing become more erratic; he was trying not to cry. They all felt immensely guilty as they realized they had pushed him too far too fast, all having assumed it wouldn't hurt as much because he had nothing he needed to hide; but it clearly had.

Everyone watched him, noting he was wrapping himself in a separate barrier made of vines. He was almost in a small cocoon, but they could also tell he might be doing so consciously to keep a brave face and tear himself apart when others weren't looking.

Arthur looked at the pod sadly, "I still can't believe how much things have changed. How much _I've_ changed." He chuckled humorlessly, "If someone had told me Merlin had lost everything, a month ago, I would have laughed and sent them to Gaius to get sobered up. But now...I wonder how I didn't see it before."

"Sometimes the people who smile the most are the most broken."

Gwaine's words made them all freeze. If he was right, then all those small moments with Merlin they all brushed off... they were...? Those smiles he would always throw their way after battle would sometimes be strained. The words he would say would crack slightly. His eyes would darken with something they couldn't possibly comprehend. And he would hold himself occasionally, like he was in pain...

And then it truly clicked.

Everyone there felt their entire world shatter as they mentally connected the dots at how broken Merlin had been for so long. They should have seen the signs, they were everywhere! Percival sighed, "Well, this experience has taught us something. Merlin's been there for us, whether or not we knew it, we need to have his." He looked up, "I should have seen it. I remember when he figured out I had lost my family not long before meeting Lancelot, he comforted me, gentle but happy; he really helped me with my pain. And when I asked him why he was helping me, his response was 'I understand what you are feeling more than you will know.' I didn't ask him about it then, but I feel like I should have."

"Do you think there are other secrets he's keeping from us? Or things we brushed off or overlooked?" Gwen asked, snuggling against Arthur, tears in her eyes. Merlin held a special spot in all their hearts, and to know they hadn't been aware of how desperately their young friend needed help was hard on everyone; especially Arthur and Gwen, who had known him longest.

Arthur shrugged, noting Merlin emerged from the pod for a second and walked off into the trees. He had a feeling his brother just needed a little time to himself, so he opted to give him some space, but would check if he felt there was any trouble, "I'd assume he kept most of his life from us, with most of it being until-recently punishable by death. But we'll let him tell us in his own time. And it is getting late, we should get some sleep."

OoOoO

They woke up in the morning to the smell of eggs. Arthur blinked awake and saw Merlin already up, with Fiona making eggs. "Good morning." She greeted, "How do you like your eggs?"

Donkey, Shrek and everyone else joined them, "Good morning, Princess!" Donkey greeted.

"What's all this about?" Shrek asked as the others began eating.

"We kind of got off to a bad start yesterday." The princess answered to them all, "I wanted to make it up to you. After all, you did rescue me." She handed him a plate, "Well, eat up. We've got a big day ahead of us."

The group began pleasant conversation, but Arthur noticed Merlin hadn't contributed yet, and he noticed the food had only been cut into small pieces and moved around to give the appearance of having been eaten without any food ending up inside the young warlock to keep him going. He was staring off into space like he would frequently in Camelot, everyone had assumed he was tired or daydreaming, and maybe that was all it was; but that was the thing when a light gets turned on, you always expect the worst.

Arthur got up and sat next to him, picking up the fork and waving it in front of his brother's face,

"Merlin, eat. As your king, I order you to eat the food." It was more of a joke than an order, but it didn't start off the usual banter it would on a normal day in Camelot; Merlin continued to stare off into space.

Arthur, panicking now, began digging through Merlin's bag and saw a little orange bottle towards the bottom. He read the label: Wellbutrin. What was a Wellbutrin? He held up the bottle to the others, "Hey guys, do you know what Wellbutrin is? Merlin's not waking up from this trance and I'm worried." He shook Merlin again, but his brother just fell backwards; that was when Arthur noticed he was muttering words quietly, they were quiet and mumbled, unclear. Arthur bent down beside him and noticed Merlin's sapphire eyes a) had rings of gold along the pupils, something that had always been there but was never pointed out by anyone, and b) weren't reflecting the sky, they were reflecting a bare landscape surrounded with fallen warriors. The Keyblade Graveyard. That was the only possible candidate.

That was when Merlin screamed and shot up,

"NO!" He blinked and looked around, then at his hands, then at the people—and ogre and donkey—staring at him. He looked at his reflection in the water Gwen had handed him. He remained confused for a moment, before taking heavy breaths, smiling broadly,

"Hey guys! Good morning! Well, time to get Fiona to the kingdom." He picked up his bag, not noticing the absence of the mystery medication.

Everyone just stared at each other.

"Well," Shrek said eventually, "I'm going to ask now, what's his damage?"

"Trust me Shrek," Elyan answered, "you don't want to know."

"No really," Donkey said, "I caught him sobbing in a weird vine cocoon with a dagger, is he okay?"

The word 'dagger' caused everyone to get up and run after their friend and the redhead princess.

They didn't know what to expect, but they certainly didn't expect to find Fiona and Merlin tag-teaming it against a bunch of random men, using the most awesome karate ever.

Fiona wiped the sweat from her brow, "Man, that was annoying!"

One man got up, "Oh, you little—" He was cut off by Shrek and Donkey joining the fight. The others weren't fully sure what to do as Merlin sent one man sky-high.

After a few punches, the battle was won, and Fiona chuckled, "Um, shall we?"

"Hold the phone." Shrek said, "Oh! Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on now. Where did that come from?"

Fiona looked back, "What?"

"That! Back there. That was amazing! Where did you learn that?"

Leon paled, "Please don't tell me you're a secretly trained warrior as well. I've had enough of those for one lifetime."

"You've only had me revealed." Merlin said.

"Says the guy who I genuinely thought couldn't fight with a sword for the first couple years." he chuckled, "Then again, there was when you and Arthur first met..."

Merlin laughed as Arthur cringed at the memory, "Oh yeah..."

" _Come on then." Arthur taunted,_ _"_ _Take a swing._ _"_

 _Merlin didn't know he was being told to punch the prince, and he honestly didn't care. This guy reminded him of Vanitas and was just getting away with this because of a status given to him by his father, no matter what station he was in; noble, lord, or even the prince. At first, he debated sending a fake swing, but then decided this would be a good way to keep his hand-to-hand combat skills from getting rusty._

 _He took a swing before Arthur could react and punched him square in the jaw, sending the knight crashing to the ground. He looked up in horror at the blood coming from the side of his mouth._

 _Merlin crouched in front of him, "What? Didn't expect a peasant to know how to punch. Well, it's a game of life and death where I'm from, you don't let who someone's daddy is get to you." Arthur looked at him, now enraged, crossing his arms as he stood up,_ _"_ _You know I could have you arrested for that._ _"_

" _You're not the king."_

" _No. I_ _'_ _m his son, Arthur._ _"_

Everyone gaped as Leon continued, "Arthur confided in me later that you would make a fine knight with that kind of attitude if you weren't a commoner. Then he thoughts changed when we though you couldn't use a weapon."

Merlin frowned as they walked, "I need to admit something. I've meddled with all of your memories at least once. I've been resetting them since I woke up, hence my trance."

"There's an arrow in your butt!" They heard Fiona shriek before anyone could voice their forgiveness and understanding. They all turned and saw there was indeed an arrow in Shrek's rear end.

"What?" He looked down, "Oh, would you look at that?"

They all stared blankly at him.

Donkey saw the wound and gasped,

"Shrek's hurt. Shrek's hurt? Oh, no, Shrek's gonna die."

"Donkey, I'm okay." Shrek assured.

"Oh, you can't do this to me. I'm too young for you to die. Keep your legs elevated. Turn your head and cough. Does anyone know the Heimlich?"

"Donkey! Calm down." Merlin ordered. Fiona turned to Shrek, "Now you hold still, and I'll yank this thing out."

"Ow! Hey! Easy with the yanking."

"I'm sorry, but it has to come out." Fiona said. Merlin was watching to ensure she did it right. The others were keeping Donkey distracted.

"Don't move." Merlin said from the tree he was leaning against.

"Ow! Not good."

"Okay. Okay, I can nearly see the head." Fiona said, grunting, "It's just about…"

"Ow! Ohh!"

Fiona now had a hand on Shrek's thigh, and that was what Donkey saw as he looked past the group, "Ahem. If you wanted to be alone, all you had to do was as, okay."

Shrek groaned as Gwaine fought back a laugh, "Oh, come on! That's the last thing on my mind! The princess here was just—Ugh!"

Donkey came closer, "Hey, what's that? That's—Is that blood?!" He screamed.

OoOoO

Twelve hours and two curagas later, they were on a hill in sight of the kingdom. Shrek and Fiona had become quite close, while the others stayed in their own conversations, pointedly avoiding anything that could set Merlin off and upset him—nobody had asked about the dagger, afraid of the answer. But they had learned Merlin learned memory-warping magic while trying to get Ven's memory back as a loophole to the death threat, which led to failure, but a nifty skill.

Fiona saw the kingdom and the overly large castle.

"There it is, Princess." Shrek said somewhat glumly, "Your future awaits you."

Fiona looked both disappointed and awed, "That's Duloc?"

"Yeah, I know." Donkey said, "You know, Shrek thinks Lord Farquaad's compensating for something, which I think means he has a really—" Leon slapped him over the head as everyone else sent appalled looks, "Ow!"

"Um, I, uh—I guess we better move one." Shrek muttered. He sounded disappointed like Fiona looked, causing Gwen to whisper to Merlin,

"I ship it. Am I using that right?"

Merlin smirked and nodded, both to prove she had indeed used the correctly and in silent agreement.

"Sure." Fiona said, proving their point, "But, Shrek? I'm—I'm worried about Donkey."

"What?" Everyone asked. Most had expected an excuse, just not that.

"I mean, look at him." The princess defended, "He doesn't look so good."

Donkey looked confused, "What are you talking about? I'm fine."

"That's what they always say, and then next thing you know, you're on your back." She kicked him, so he was on his back. When he still seemed confused, she clarified, "Dead."

"You know, she's right." Shrek agreed, earning a smirk from Gwaine, â€œYou look awful. Do you want to sit down? I'll find us some dinner."

"I'll get the firewood." Fiona cheered. The two walked off and Merlin started getting out other, more modern foods to introduce to his friends.

"Hey, where you goin'?" Donkey asked, "Oh, man, I can't feel my toes! I don't have any toes! I think I need a hug." Gwen bent down and hugged him, earning the young woman a sloppy kiss from Arthur.

It wasn't long after that, Shrek and Fiona returned from their separate errands and Shrek began cooking, while Merlin put up some protective wards around the land they were using. Their sleeping bags, blankets and pillows were out, and the group was watching Shrek cook, learning with Fiona about the swamp.

Shrek handed out their food and while Arthur was reluctant at first, a smile from Merlin made him try it as well; it was surprisingly tasty.

"Mmm. Mmm. This is good." Fiona took another bite, "This is really good. What is this?"

"Uh, weedrat. Rotisserie style."

The group smiled to themselves, before Gwen finally got the couage to ask the one question that had been bothering them for hours now,

"Merlin…Donkey said he saw you sobbing, with a dagger…" she bit her lip, gesturing to the hand they had all seen was bandaged, but since he could easily heal himself if he wanted to hide it, they didn't know why.

Merlin looked up from his food, "Oh…" he looked to his hand, "Oh. You think I…No. I can see how you would think that, but those two things have nothing to do with each other. It's part of the barrier spell—requires the magic-user's blood. That's why I haven't healed it, just left it open so I don't have to slice my palm again." He smiled, trying to give his signature grin, but only now could they see how hollow it was, maybe they would have been fooled if he hadn't been brushing away such a serious topic, but the look in his eyes told a different story. Merlin needed help, and damn it all, they were going to give it.

"Have you ever thought about that?" Percival asked. He didn't need to avoid the pronoun game, as everyone knew what he was suggesting.

"Yes."

That singular word was like a punch to the gut from everyone.

"But that doesn't mean I've done it." That soothed them all, but not as much as they wanted it to.

Gwaine put a hand on Merlin's, "Mate…we're sorry for pushing you so far last night. We—or I at least—just wanted to know everything, so I could help you. Because you're hurting, and I don't like it. I don't want you to hide who you are, have us confide everything in you but not feel like you can confide in us. But I won't push you to tell us, but I will always be here to listen."

"We all will." Arthur added, earning nods from everyone.

They sat in silence as Fiona again panicked about the sunset and went into the building close by. They all knew they should follow her, but they were all preoccupied by proving to their friend that he could trust them.

"It wasn't trust…that prevented me from telling you, that had me wipe your memories…" Merlin muttered eventually, "It's just that everyone who found out has died, and I can't bear to lose more friends."

"What do you mean?" Elyan asked, "Gaius is still—"

"Gaius is the only one." Was this it? Was Merlin opening up to them? Whatever it was, it was of his own will and they weren't going to stop him. Even Shrek and Donkey were silent, captured by his words,

"When I went back to Ealdor after I lost them, I was depressed and traumatized, so much so I didn't say a single word for three years. I couldn't. It didn't help that I had always been considered the village freak, being a bastrad born on the Winter Solstice and all, which was considered a sign of the devil individually, and the fact my eyes are ringed with gold only made it even worse. Will was the only one to try being friendly, to not hurt me emotionally or physically. He was okay that I was mute and when he finally got me to start talking again, he was okay with my magic and even wanted to help me on my quest to find Aqua, to get out of Ealdor and never return to that hellhole, wanting to go with me. But then, when I turned fifteen, my mother got tired of raising me and sent me to die in Camelot." He looked up at Gwen, "I was scared, Gwen, to make friends. Because if anyone found out what I was, they would hate me; and if they didn't and kept my secret, Uther could have them burned. But you were the first to worm your way into my heart." He looked around, "I tried to distance myself, but all of you found a way in, no matter how hard I tried to keep you out."

"How did you meet Lancelot then?" Leon asked quietly.

Fortunatly, Merlin just smiled a little, "He saved my life from a Griffin. I could have defended myself, but he still helped me. He told me later of his dream to become a knight, and I helped him do so… ahem… fine, I went into the archives and forged one with magic. He was honestly the best thing to help with my mental recovery, especially after Will died preserving my secrets. He wrote often after he left, and when he came back, he learned a lot of my story. He even followed me on one of my trips to the Realm of Darkness in hopes of helping me find Aqua, insisting two sets of eyes were better than one, even though we had to leave after three days because he didn't have the limited protection the Keyblade provides and started hallucinating." He teared up, "He died for me, not Camelot, it was my fault. I made the mistake of revealing my plan to be the sacrifice, and managed to sneak past me…There were also Freya and Balinor…" Gwaine wrapped his arms around the younger man, followed by everyone else in one giant group hug

"Merlin," Arthur assured, "It wasn't your fault. Lancelot made his choice, and I am more thankful for his sacrifice than ever."

They all released the hug and saw Shrek had stopped listening and was staring wistfully at the building Fiona had entered,

Donkey smirked, which was odd on a donkey, "Ohh! Now I really see what's goin' on here. I don't even wanna hear it. Look, I'm an animal, and I got instincts. I know two were digging in each other. I could feel it."

"You're crazy. I'm just bringing her back to Farquaad." He pointed to Merlin, "That one seems to have more interesting topics to poke holes at, go bother him."

"Oh, come on, Shrek. Wake up and smell the pheromones. Just go on in and tell her how you feel."

Arthur smiled a bit, laughing at how this kind of reminded him of Merlin nagging him to admit his feelings for Gwen, "I—There's nothing to tell. Besides, even if I did tell her that, well, you know—and I'm not saying I do 'cause I don't—she's a princess, and I'm—"

"An ogre?" Gwaine asked, "What does that have to do with anything? Or is this world as…what's the word…racist?...as ours."

"Yeah, racist is the word." Merlin confirmed.

Shrek just nodded and walked off.

"Hey, where you goin'?"

"To get... more firewood."

The foreigners looked to each other,

"Fiona?"

Merlin yawned and nodded, about to stand up when Arthur sat him back down,

"Merlin, I'll handle it. You look exhausted, get some sleep."

"I'm okay." Another yawn betrayed him.

"Bullshit. It is time for us all to mother hen you." Gwaine insisted jokingly, but he was obviously dead serious. Arthur put his hands on his hips, "Merlin I swear, sleep or I'll make you."

"And how, pray tell, would you do that?"

Arthur summoned his Keybade, "Sleep!" Merlin was hit and flopped over. Earned Sleepra.

"I thought he'd block that." Elyan said after a second of watching Merlin's even breathing. Gwen shrugged,

"Maybe he appreciated the gesture and decided to let it work but will wake if we need him." That sounded accurate.

"Well whatever it is," Arthur looked to Donkey, "Donkey, wanna check on Fiona with Guinevere and I?" He looked back to his faithful knights, "Rest of you, watch over Merlin." Seeing as Merlin had started muttering words and reaching out in Gwaine's general direction, leading to an adorable cuddle session from all the men, they didn't see that as an issue.

They entered the building, Arthur's Keyblade in hand.

"Princess? Princess Fiona?"

Donkey looked around, "Princess, where are you? "It's very spooky in here. I ain't playing no games." Suddenly they all saw a female ogre, "Aah!"

"Oh, no!"

"No, help!"

"Stop!" Arthur threw the Keyblade in the air and both the ogress and Donkey froze. He looked down at the blade,

"Oh my god, I wish I had that in Camelot." Things unfroze after a moment, but Donkey had stopped screaming,

The ogress took a breath, "Donkey, I'm the princess. It's me, in this body."

Donkey calmed, and Gwen looked the ogress up and down, "Fiona? What happened to you? You're, uh, uh, uh, different. "

"I'm ugly, okay?!"

They all sat down, "Well, yeah!" Donkey announced, even though Fiona's state could easily be a lot worse, "Was it something you ate? 'Cause I told Shrek those rats were a bad idea. You are what you eat, I said. Now—"

Fiona: No. I—I've been this way as long as I can remember.

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked as the pieces lined up from what Merlin said about dark magic that didn't belong to her, "Are you cursed?"

Fiona nodded, "It only happens when the sun goes down. "By night one way, by day another. This shall be the norm, until you find true love's first kiss, and then take love's true form." When I was a little girl, a witch cast a spell on me. Every night I become this. This horrible, ugly beast! I was placed in a tower to await the day my true love would rescue me. That's why I have to marry Lord Farquaad tomorrow, before the sun sets and he sees me, like this."

"Look, it's not that bad." Donkey assured, "You're not that ugly. Well, I ain't gonna lie. You are ugly. But you only look like this at night. Shrek's ugly 24/7."

Gwen was suddenly grinning, and Arthur understood her thought process, "Fiona, how about you don't marry Farquaad?"

"I have to. Only my true love's kiss can break the spell."

"But, you know, um, you're kind of an ogre, and Shrek—well, you got a lot in common."

Fiona: Shrek? I can't just marry whoever I want. Take a good look at me, Donkey. I mean, really—" Arthur shushed her,

"I'm courting Guinevere for love, even though I'm king and she's a servant. I've learned propriety means nothing. And as for apprerance, do you really think Shrek would care? And also, Lord Farquaad didn't save you, he sent Shrek. If you love someone, you go the the end of the universe for them. You at least need to tell Shrek the truth."

Encouraged by the king's words, Fiona got up and took a deep breath as she opened the door to see Shrek standing there with a sunflower.

Shrek stared for a second before taking in the red hair and green dress, "Uh, Fiona?" Fiona nodded, "That explains a lot."

Fiona beamed at how he didn't judge, "This is why I hide at night…but Shrek…I—I love you…"

"Really?" Fiona nodded.

"I—I love you too."

"Awwww!" Came from everyone, including the knights, and Merlin, who had been roused by the noise, rubbing his eyes sleepily. The ogre couple kissed and suddenly Fiona lit up like a small blue sun,

 _"Until you find true love's first kiss, and then take love's true form."_ The voice echoed, and everyone shielded their eyes, _"Take love's true from. Take love's true form."_ The light dimmed, and Fiona stood there, still an ogress.

"Fiona? Fiona. Are you all right?"

Fiona looked down at herself, "Well, yes. But I don't understand. I'm supposed to be beautiful."

He cupped her cheek, "But you are beautiful."

Merlin stood up, "Damnit, I need to be a priest, don't I?" Fiona and Shrek were suddenly in white, formal clothing, while Merlin suddenly had a big ass book. "We are gathered on this hill in the middle of fuck fuck nowhere at midnight to bear witness to the union of Princess Fiona and Shrek. Because my only qualifications to do this are the fact I am a god, and I am also tired and need coffee, I will make this simple." He looked to Shrek, "Do you?"

"I do."

He looked to Fiona, "Do you?"

"I do."

"Okay then. By the power vested in me by, well…by me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Now kiss."

They kissed, and Merlin pulled out some champaign from thin air, and then a large mug of coffee for himself, drinking it.

The party was small, because it was only a few tired people, two ogres, a donkey, and an exhausted warlock/priest/baby god. The fact Merlin just had all that lying around still amused and baffled everyone else.

"Mate, did you just have all that stuff lying around?!" Gwaine asked, laughing as he drank another thing of champaign.

"No. I'm trying to rebuild my magical endurance, and menial item conjuring is a good way to do it."

That made sense…if any of them short of Arthur and Percival knew what magical endurance was.

It was sunrise by the time Shrek remembered the problem,

"Oh no. I was supposed to get Fiona for Farquaad, so I could get my swamp back. We have nowhere to live."

"No problem." Gwen announced, "Merlin, you have a way of bending the will of nobles for your gain, can you do that?"

"If you mean mind control, no. If you mean screaming and being annoying, then sure." He flopped over, "But first, all those years of less than two hours of sleep in three days has caught me. I need sleep." And then he was asleep again.

OoOoO

Merlin only slept an hour before they were trekking to Duloc. Most of the journery was uneventful and included a rule song with a dirty joke and the ogres and donke being sneered and gawked at. Most of this trip was not noteworthy enough for even the magic journal to document and led to the moment they met Lord Farquaad, who it turned out was a halfling—or he had a severe growth impairment. That only made the situation worse, as he was a hypocritical racist son of a bitch instead of the same thing, removing the hypocrite part.

Merlin was being civil, while nobody else was even trying.

Neither was Farquaad, "Ugh! It's disgusting! Guards! Guards! I order you to get _that_ out of my sight now! Get them! Get them both!" He gestured to Shrek and Fiona, and the two were almost taken away. Highlight the almost. Because they were all frozen in place.

"Don't just stand there, you morons!" Farquaad ordered, "I'll make you regret the day we met. I'll see you drawn and quartered! You'll beg for death to save you! And as for you," he looked to Fiona, not seeming to notice that all his men were being either frozen in place, or beaten savagely by the knights, Arthur and Gwen—those last to were performing a limit and it was quite flashy and impressive, "I'll have you locked back in that tower for the rest of your days! I will have order! I will have perfection! I will have—" Every light went out as there was a sharp loss of air and the room took a freaky chill.

And only then did everyone notice the dark fire surrounding Merlin. Everyone who had seen Birth by Sleep recognized that as the same fire Terra had been surrounded with when Eraqus tried to kill Ven.

Darkness.

Merlin opened his eyes, blazing gold, and Arthur was reminded of the incident with Mickey and Aqua, and he understood the problem as Farquaad was flung out the window. So long dealing with the persecution of his kind had taken a toll, and now he was willing to let loose his wrath. He ran up to Merlin, prying him away and holding both his hands in front of his face,

"Merlin, listen to me!" He pleaded, "You're losing control!" He didn't blame Merlin for this, it was justly deserved, and there was no way someone could suffer like Merlin had and not have this issue. He had gone through the files while Merlin was asleep and noticed the topic of a hurt loved one or Xehanort could set this off. It was just a state, and it would often happen without the magic, but this time it was.

But this time was different, because then everyone saw a semi-transparent Xehanort appear, whispering in his ear,

"Good, fight him, he wants to hurt you…destroy them and come home. They are not your friends."

But it seemed Xehanort had gotten cocky, as that snapped Merlin out of it. He blinked a couple times, before slumping in Arthur's arms a bit.

"A-Arthur…?" He looked up as everyone ran to his side, "Did I do it again?"

"Yes. But it's gonna be okay." He reassured his little brother, "When all this shit is over, we're gonna get you a really, really long vacation with your friends, away from all the drama. It's not your fault."

Shrek and Fiona came up, "Thank you guys."

"No problem." Arthur looked back at Merlin, "Hey, I found a big old keyhole a minute ago and it locked when I key-beamed it. Is that good?"

"Yup. That means it's time to go."

OoOoO

They made it back to the Mysterious Tower, and were met with a very unexpected sight:

Sora was standing in front of Yen Sid, sopping wet, and next to him was an equally wet, not evil, Aqua.

"Hey guys!" Sora greeted happily, "Guess who I saved!"

 **A/N: I know, the world was more a background thing, that was kind of the point. I promise the hiatus won't be as riducilously long, and we will get a tearful Merlin, Ven and Aqua reunion.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Remembering and reviving the fallen**

Aqua didn't know what to expect after Sora saved her, as he hadn't given her much of a status update on th universe or her friends. Was Merlin still okay? Was Ven still safe, sleeping in Castle Obivion? Was Terra…

But here, now, with both Ven and a grown-up Merlin sprinting at her at top speed, she felt that for a second, nothing was wrong. After so long alone and losing hope, they were here, safe and sound.

 _This is_ —she was tackled into a hug by both her boys— _real!_

She then noticed they were both crying, and felt hot tears fall down her own cheeks.

"Oh my boys…" she hugged them back, embracing their warmth. Ven was beaming just like he used to. Merlin…he was an adult. A part of her forgot it had been nearly thirteen years. Merlin was older than her now! There was so much pain in his bright blue eyes, that she knew he had suffered, and felt immensely guilty for leaving him alone.

She didn't remember much of her brief time as Xehanort's lackey, but in the shards of it she had, she realized she had seen him, he had come for her and she betrayed him.

"I'm so sorry, I should have been stronger, I should have looked harder, I'M SO SORRY!" He was full on bawling now, clinging to her like she would vanish at any given moment.

She ran her hands through his hair. Well, that hadn't changed, his hair was still an uncontrollable mop, "Shh…Merlin, it's not your fault. I went down there of my own will, but I didn't mean to leave you. You were only ten years old, nobody should have that much responsibility and guilt that young."

He finally looked up at her, hie eyes red and puffy, much like Ven's.

"I-I missed you." He smirked a little, but it was only a ghost of the one he had as a child, "Mom."

Aqua laughed at the nickname, standing up with the two, "That's right. Now I will care for you, dang it!"

It was then she noticed a group of other people just standing there, letting this unfold. Then she remembered…

"Merlin…Lancelot is alive."

Merlin's gaze shot back from Ven to her, also earning the attention of the group of men and singular woman behind them. "What?"

 _Aqua didn't know how long she had been on the beach with the mystery man, who was her only friend in this wretched place. But she did hear footsteps and she turned to see a man standing there._

 _He was the handsome type, wearing pieces of torn up chainmail and clothing, his brunette hair tossled every which way. He was bruised and bloody, and his skin that looked to be normally a tan color was pale._

" _H-Hello? Are you real?" He asked tentively, approaching her as he fell to his knees beside her._

" _Yes. My name is Aqua." She turned to introduce her friend, only to find he was gone. Maybe he had been an illusion. Not that she really cared at this point. Both she and the man touched hands to ensure the other was real. He began tearing up and hugged her,_

" _Thank the gods…" he breathed, "I've been alone down here for so long…"_

" _Who are you? How did you get to the Realm of Darkness?" She looked, and by no standards did he seem to be a Keyblade wielder. He certainly had the heart for it, that she could sense, but he did not own one._

" _Oh, my name…I'm Lancelot, from Camelot." He then blinked, "Wait…Aqua! Oh my god, you've been found! Merlin's been worried sick!"_

 _The name of her youngest friend caught her attention, "Merlin?! Where is he!? How do you know him? Is he okay?"_

 _Lancelot shrugged, "Last time I saw him he was fine, if not distressed. You see, a witch on our world, Morgana, tore the veil between life and death—or so we thought. As I've learned since, it was the veil between the realms of light and darkness, and the Dorocha roam this domain. But it needed a blood sacrifice to seal. Prince Arthur planned to do it, but Merlin refused to let that happen—beause apparently, he has a destiny to protect the 'prat' until magic is restored—anyway, he wouldn't let that happen, so he was going to do it. But Merlin's my friend, and I didn't want him to die, so I snuck past him and did it." He huffed, "I wish I had let him, had known where this would go. Merlin comes in and out of here as he pleases in search of you, but I'm trapped here with nothing but monsters and my fears for company." He looked her in the eyes, "Time doesn't flow here, as I can assume you've realized by now. So, I have no idea where Merlin is or his condition."_

 _She smiled, holding out her blue wayfinder so it lit up by the moonlight, "At least he's safe. But why in the name of Kingdom Hearts would he go to Camelot?"_

 _And so, Lancelot explained everything he knew about Merlin. Their warlock friend was the common ground between them, and they became good friends, before Xehanort's Heartless came for her._

" _Run!" She ordered him as she was flung by the guardian-monster. The last thing she saw was him reluctantly sprinting off the beach and deeper into the dark realm._

"I told him to run, and I don't know where he went after that." She reacounted her tale, which had caused the other people to cry.

"He's alive…" The riducuously tall one gasped out, "I can't believe it…"

Merlin's backpack appeared, and he was walking outside again. The blonde man with identical eyes—including the gold rim—ran after him,

"Merlin! You just lost control of your darkness! Let me go down there, don't go."

Merlin turned, "Arthur, it's my fault Lancelot's down there, alone, with no way to defend himself. I need to save him."

…

Merlin clenched his fist, determined, as he saw Aqua and Ven, "Aqua, Ven, please. Stay here. I'm going alone."

"Alone my ass." Gwaine stomped down the stairs, "Lancelot's like our brother and none of us thought for a second that he could be alive. I'm going."

"Me too." Percival, "Lancelot saved my life and gave me purpose. I need to help you save him."

The other knights murmured their agreements, before Merlin sighed,

"I can't bring all of you this time. Too dangerous. I'll take Arthur, Gwaine and Percival. That way Arthur and I can each assist one. The rest of you, make sure Xehanort doesn't strike while we're gone. Ven, Aqua, be careful." With that, he slammed his foot on the ground and the four fell into the dark world.

OoOoO

"AHH!" Arthur shrieked as he accidentally activated Mega Flare, "I'm leveling up like a motherfucker!" It was true. Ten levels in Duloc, a good thirty after a couple hours in hell. Level 67 total. Not nearly as strong as Merlin, but Merlin had had nearly twenty years of practice while he had not even twenty days. Progress.

They were in a swarm of constantly coming Heartless. Gwaine and Percival were able to hold their own well enough, but numbers of strong enemies was worse than a singular ridiculously powerful enemy.

It felt like an eternity before they were all gone. Everyone except Merlin flopped over. Gwaine looked up incredulously,

"How are you not just panting…coughing up blood from that…" Merlin had definitely done most of the work. Merlin looked down at them,

"I'll tell you how: because I'm fucking awesome. You see these glutes, okay, I earned these glutes!" He threw them each a potion. Arthur stood up first,

"There is no possible way you are scrawny if you did that without breaking a sweat. So, you have no excuse. Why have you never taken your shirt off, even in the blistering heat?"

Merlin lifted up part of his shirt and all of them glared at him. He had a chisled 8-pack and pecs, yet he was still lean, and the shirt easily hid it all. But they also saw a ton of scars along his body.

"Scars." He replied simply, "Shall we continue? I placed a tracking spell on where Camelot would be down here, and we'll arrive shortly. If we're going to find Lancelot, might as well start at home."

They continued to walk and were again swarmed by Heartless. Once the fight was over, there was only one shadow left. It squeezed into the ground. Merlin stared at the one as it started running away, "Oh come on, bro." It crawled under the ledge, "Bro! Where are you going? Bro! Bro…!" That last one was a joke.

"He's just like 'fuck it, I am out.'" They all laughed at Percival's accurate comment.

And finally, they made it the Lake of Avalon.

Merlin gazed at the lake, and then he suddenly gasped, "Oh no. Freya! Can you hear me?! Freya!"

A blue glow emitted from the lake and Freya emerged, spirit-like.

"Merlin…help me…"

Merlin summoned his Keyblade and launched it at her, turning her into a glowing orb that landed in a jar. He held it up to him, "You're safe now, my love."

"Merlin, how do you know my sister?!" Percival asked, shocked, relieved, and gazing at the orb in wonder.

Arthur looked at it too, "Was that the…oh hell no! I didn't…"

"Bastet." Merlin replied, "But the curse is broken though. While trying to save her life, I accidentally bound her to the lake. I just realized she probably hadn't been slingshot across the universe like the rest." He hugged the jar close before resting it in is bag, labeled 'Freya' next to the one labeled 'Morgana'.

"Something tells me there's a sob story involved, and I would love to hear it," Gwaine said, "But for right now, we should find Lancelot. I would rather not learn about those hallucinations."

OoOoO

Hours upon hours upon fucking hours! The only reason they knew it had been hours was because they were still in the Camelot domain and knew the walking distance from each place.

Now they were in the citadel, looking around.

"Lancelot!"

"Lancelot! Where are you?"

"Come out! We're here to bring you home!"

"Guys, be quiet." Merlin shushed, "Do you want to be swarmed by Heartless?" He pulled out the wayfinder as his eyes flashed gold. A silver light erupted from the little charm, and they saw some hiding Heartless run away.

"What did you just do?" Arthur asked, shielding his eyes.

"It's a beacon of light. It scares away the Heartless, and if Lancelot is close, it has an enchantment to lead the way. If he isn't, it will let me know and glow brighter until it finds him. I didn't do this before because I needed somewhere that would be familiar. Also, it doesn't work for Keyblade wielders, I've tried, it just scares them away because they can resist the lure. I tried it a couple times on Terra. The wayfinder was just an insanely helpful vessel for the spell due to the unbreakable connection magic placed upon it." He suddenly snapped up, "Oh no."

"Oh no what?"

"He's in danger. We need to go!"

They ran. Fortunatly, since no time passed in the dark realm, they could run forever without tiring out. The only thing that wore them down was fighting Heartless.

They found themselves in a creepy ass clearing, the Dark Hide creeping close to an unmoving form.

Lancelot.

He seemed to be unconscious. The group of rescuers prayed he was just unconscious and not dead, because they couldn't tell if he was breathing.

"Hey!" Merlin roared, slipping almost into dragon-tongue with his tone. He summoned his Keyblade and nodded to Arthur. "Gwaine, Percy, get Lancelot out of here! We'll fight it off." Sadly, this monster was one of the stronger enemies—strongest being the phantoms—and it had vast dark powers, fireballs, claws, illusions, and could turn invisible when in darkness.

Easy to say, this wasn't going to be fun.

"What is this thing?!"

"It's the Dark Hide, or more commonly known as the Hunter of the Dark. It's a Pureblood Heartless, meaning it's much more powerful."

"Great." He looked at his commands, "Hey, I'm getting a 'limit' option with you, is that good?" Not waiting for an answer as the Dark Hide scratched him, he activated it and found himself in a joint attack, his body moving of it's own command. He also found he was invincible right now. He had yet to learn Dodge Roll or Cartwheel, so he was lost on that.

They managed to knock the beast down to only one bar, only Arthur found his MP was completely drained.

"Shit. Shit. Shit! Merlin! Heal me!"

"Curaga!" He felt the refreshing heal spell wash over him as his wounds sealed over as though they never existed. Such a useful skill—ah! Dark Hide was coming closer! AH! You know you've reached enlightment when you can be a battle hard warrior, scream that, and have no fear of judgement from anyone other than the person who could judge you for breathing. Anyway, what would the rules say to do in this situation…?

Rule #5: Always expect the unexpected.

Rule #34: If it exists, there is porn of it.

Why the dreaded rule came to his mind was a mystery, but his screeching at the mental images it created did the trick, as it apparently unlocked a new command style revolving around rocks. The Dark Hide ran away from them at top speed. If he didn't know better, he would think the monster had thought of rule 34 as well.

Merlin turned to him, "You have no idea how many times I've faced that thing. I knew informing you of rule 34 was a good idea." He patted Arthur's shoulder and jogged to where Gwaine and Percival were sitting with Lancelot placed between them. Merlin looked him over. He was not in good condition, and Dark Hide was clearly one of many to do quite a number on him. Another issue with the no time thing: only magic could heal wounds, otherwise they stayed forever.

"He's breathing." He said after what felt like forever, "But he needs to get to a hospital."

"Why not just use that fancy flower spell?" Gwaine asked, "Curaga?"

"We can't." Merlin pointed to Lancelot's lower leg, where there was an obvious break, "It will heal wrong. Trust me, I know. Ever wonder why my right wrist is screwed up?" They all flashed back to when they noticed Merlin's wrist had a scar around it and realized he couldn't hold things properly. "It's the biggest reason I'm left-handed. I could use either but left is easier." He carried Lancelot bridal style, and a burst of light erupted from him and they were all in a worn-down city that was undeniably formerly Radiant Garden.

…

Merlin sprinted to the castle, where the hospital was,

"Doctor! We need a doctor! My friend…he's dying!"

A team of paramedics came through the doors a second later and took Lancelot from Merlin's arms and onto a backboard wheeled into the back,

"Sir, can you hear me?" One said as they rushed back, closing the doors behind them.

The others finally caught up and Gwaine looked around, "The hospital?" Merlin nodded and they all sat down.

"Merlin Mara?" They all looked up and saw a grey haired young man holding a medical file, "I never got a chance to thank you for saving my life."

Merlin stood up, "Ienzo?" Ienzo nodded.

"Yes. It has been a long time. May I assume it was you to dump a comatose woman on us out of nowhere? Because if so, do you know the whereabouts of her heart?"

Merlin nodded as Arthur stood up, giving Gwaine a magazine on frisky women to keep busy, unaware the rouge knight didn't care about that and was more worried about his friend, and curious to the Morgana situation.

Merlin pulled out the jar and Ienzo gestured for them to follow him. They found themselves in a lab with Morgana on a bed.

"May I?" Merlin handed him the jar reluctantly and Ienzo put it in a fancy machine or another. He frowned after a minute or so, "So I was right…Merlin, are you by any chance aware of a takeover?"

"A takeover?" Arthur asked, looking at the screen that held only numbers and colors to him, but everything to Merlin and Ienzo.

"It means…" Merlin gasped, "Morgana wasn't the one who betrayed us!" He looked to Arthur, "It's like when Ven and Vanitas merged, and Vanitas took control. Morgana wasn't the one in command." He began pacing, "I would guess Morgana's heart weakened due to the sleeping spell, then Morgause enchanted her, then used her as a vessel upon her own body's death. It would explain why she was so dead-set on getting Morgana on the throne."

…

Arthur's stomach plummeted. He had turned his back on her again… He looked to his sister's comatose form, "How do we separate the two?"

"I would guess someone would need to go in there and take Morgause out." Merlin suggested, then sighed as he turned to Arthur, "Seeing as you are her brother, I think you're the best bet." _And I poisoned her._ Arthur had learned about the poisoning from going through the files, and was pissed at the dragon, not Merlin, who had been worked into a corner. While in hindsight the decision was stupid, he understood how it came to that.

He looked to Morgana's heart, "So I need to dive into Morgana's heart and wake her up?"

"Pretty much."

Arthur blinked a couple times, trying to process that. "Okay. I'll do it." He summoned his Keyblade and key-beamed it, diving in.

He woke up in a dark place. It was black in every direction and he didn't know where to turn.

"Morgause! Get your prissy ass out here and fight, or get the hell out of my sister!"

There was no response. He contunied walking around until the scene changed from pitch black to him on the balcony in Camelot, his father beside him. He looked down and saw…Morgana was sobbing on the pyre.

"Let this serve a lesson to us all. This woman, Morgana Le Fey, has been found guilty of practicing sorcery and I, Uther Pendragon, have decreed that such practices are banned on penalty of death."

And suddenly Arthur understood. Morgause had trapped Morgana in her worst fear. There were so many things wrong here it made him want to vomit, and the knowledge Uther to those of magic was basically Hitler to the Jewish made things no better.

He grabbed Uther's arm before he could bring it down,

"Uther! Stop! This is Morgana we're talking about! She isn't evil! SHE'S YOUR FUCKING DAUGHTER!"

Uther froze, "How do you…?! That doesn't matter. My daughter would never practice such vile arts."

"Magic is not evil." Arthur calmed his posture, "Prejudice is what drives good people to rash decisions. If you are to ban magic, then you might as well ban crossbows. It's not the arrow's fault if it hits a good man or a bad one, it is the fault of the archer."

Uther glared at him, "Don't you see! The sorceress has enchanted you!" He brought his hand down and the pyre was lit.

"NO!" Arthur leapt down the balcony, thanking his Keyblade powers for giving him extra resilience when his ankles should have shattered. He summoned the weapon much to the shock of the people surrounding them and Uther's horror. He launched ice at the fire, and his magic overpowered the flame and extinguinshed them before they could even touch Morgana. He helped her off the pyre, untieng her and using his Keyblade to unlock the locks on the sorcerer cuffs on her wrists.

"A-Arthur…" Morgana breathed, and the scene began melting away as they were on a stain glass panel divided between Morgause and Morgana herself, much like when Ven and Vanitas merged. She gazed at her older brother, gently taking his free hand in hers, before bursting into tears and clinging to him,

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't want anyone to get hurt, I just wanted to be free." She buried her face in his shirt, "I've been stuck there, burning again and again, and nobody even tried to save me…"

Arthur felt an inhumane rage and hatred boil up for Morgause. He stroked Morgana's hair, "Shhh… I've got you. I'm never going to let you be alone again." He put a finger under her chin, so she looked up at him, her pale green eyes full of hopelessness, but the same love that had been lost in those eyes for so long, "And I would never have let you burn. I understand why you didn't tell me, I understand everything. I know Merlin poisoned you, and while it was dumb, you should talk to him about it, because I know that broke his heart more than anyone could imagine. Neither of you had the best role models for magic while in Camelot, something that will be fixed."

She blinked, and a tear fell down her cheek, then she looked at the Keyblade, "A Keyblade?"

He chuckled, "Yeah. Merlin's a Keyblade Master for nearly thirteen years, and a wielder for roughly seventeen. Please note he is currently twenty-two."

"Damn. I thought he was older."

"Agreed, but he is mentally ancient, so that makes sense." He looked around, "I swear to the triple goddess and Kingdom Hearts, Morgause, come out!"

And Morgause appeared as they were trapped back in the blackness. She still had the nasty marks on her face and there were hands reaching towards her as she walked; hands of the lives she had taken,

"Arthur Pendragon. You really think you can take my vessel away from me? Think again."

Morgana stepped in front to her brother protectively, "I won't let you hurt him. I fought you for nearly a year before you condemnded me to the pyre, why should this be any different?"

Morgause scoffed, "Oh dear sister, _I'm_ not going to hurt him. _He_ is." She vanished and now they were in Camelot again, only it was like it was in the realm of darkness, and it was a ruin. Imagine combining Camelot and the Keyblade Graveyard and that's what you'd get.

Both Pendragon children looked around, and they saw everyone was dead. All their friends. Gwen. The knights. Ventus. Aqua. Sora. Riku. Kairi. Roxas. Lea. Everyone. And in the center of it all was Merlin, looking down, dressed in his armor, the X-Blade in hand.

"Merlin!" Arthur ran towards him, the idea this was an illusion trying and _failing horribly_ to gain dominance. He was scared, because he couldn't bear to have Merlin dead.

But as soon as he touched Merlin's shoulder, the young master spun around and swung the large blade at him. And his eyes were Xehanort gold. His skin got darker and his armor changed to an Organization coat.

"Well then. Looks like you came back." Dark Merlin (as he would thus be dubbed, like Phantom Merlin) spun the blade in his hand even though the thing was a long as he was tall. It muct be heavy, yet Dark Merlin wielded it like it weighed nothing.

"What do you mean?" He looked around at Morgana's terrified face and the corpses everywhere, "I just got here."

"Maybe. But you abandoned them. As soon as I forged this blade, you left, abandoning them all to die at the hands of my father's army." He pointed to the blade, looking severely saddened, "And left me to become the vessel." He scoffed, "Well I get control just long enough to avenge myself from you!" He swung the blade down again and Arthur was barely able to block. This was his deepest fear: Abandoning his friends and people, and Merlin not only being enslaved, but hating him. The X-Blade was up there as well after what it did to Ventus, so he understood that part.

 _No. I would never do that. This isn't real._

"Arthur, it's not Merlin! Fight!" Morgana suddenly joined the fight, wielding the fallen Keyblade of Aqua—Stormfall. She held the magic blade up and Arthur found himself fascinated by the fact she was able to wield it, because he was seen how non-Keyblade wielders couldn't touch one without it teleporting back to it's true wielder—Gwaine had tried stealing Merlin's while he slept. Was it because this Aqua was dead? Because the Keyblade wasn't real? But judging by the fact she just launched Blizzard, he'd say it was functional. Or was it possible she was a… it made sense when he thought about it. After all, Morgana had had the stronger will of the two of them before this mess, and Riku had lost the ability to use his, hence it passing to Sora, when his heart was weakened by the darkness. Was Morgana a Keyblade wielder?

"Morgause, get out!" Morgana ordered of Dark Merlin, who flickered, and turned into Morgause for a split second.

Arthur looked to his sister in awe, because she clearly knew what was up. Hell, it seemed all he had to do was save her from the pyre and she could do the rest. Morgause was the puppet master here, she had been Uther, and now she was Dark Merlin.

He jumped back into the fight and Dark Merlin crossed his arms, "Fine. But this body is powerful, I'm using it. Don't think you can beat me."

Arthur looked to Morgana, "I've seen something like this before. We need to break the blade. Hopefully it's broken and incomplete, so it will be easy."

Morgana spun Stormfall, "Okay then. I've been waiting to do this for so long!" They charged together—please note Morgana was still wearing rags, so her doing this was nothing short of a miracle. It turned out Morgause had the power, but she did not have Merlin's fighting style that would make wielding that monster blade easy, she just knew how to look cool without being effective. But then again, judging by the fact in her normal body and enchanting Morgana she would literally walk in slow-motion just because it looked intimidating, there wasn't much of a surprise.

It was over much faster than either sibling had thought, and the blade broke like glass as Dark Merlin turned into Morgause and the scene rippled away, yet Morgana still had Stormfall in hand.

Arthur walked up to the fallen witch, "This is for my sister and my people, witch." He key-beamed her and the blonde sorceress exploded in dark fragments on Morgana's Station of Awakening, which was pale green with just her and pictures of her friends and family—Merlin was shockingly on there still.

He held out a hand to her, and she was now wearing the same dark green gown as she had in her final moments as the true Morgana Le Fey.

"Let's get out of here."

She took his hand and the world went white.

Yet Arthur found himself now alone in the Goloris estate. "Hello!?"

"Arthur." Arthur turned and saw a beautiful raven-haired woman, Lady Vivianne, Morgana's mother, standing before him next to a little girl no older than three.

"Hi? Lady Vivianne, I thought you were dead."

"I am." She smiled to the little girl, "But both Elaine and I were killed by Morgause, so we were trapped in Morgana's heart. We're free now, but I would like to grant you something for my gratitude." She took his hand in hers, "Use this knowledge wisely. I am a seer, just like my daughter, and my visions almost always come to pass. But don't let this change you, just live every day like this could come."

Arthur saw himself in the Keyblade Graveyard, everyone was being sweapt up by Heartless tornadoes and dark purple chains. Sora was screaming and punching the ground, staring heartbrokenly into Riku's unseeing turquoise eyes. Donald was dead, and Lea was either dead or close to. Aqua was nowhere to be found, neither was Ventus. Roxas was duking it out with a mystery figure wielding the Kingdom Key. And Merlin was shining like a star above them all, defying gravity with a red glow. The thirteen darknesses looked horrified as Merlin released an explosion of light.

"Help…" Merlin breathed, and only Arthur could hear through their connection, then the X-Blade was in his hand.

And Arthur jolted awake back in Radiant Garden, to find himself inveloped in a hug by both Merlin and an awake Morgana.

"Arthur!" They both cheered happily, and he let himself melt into the embrace of his siblings and let his brain shut down at the horror of what he witnessed later.

He squeezed them both, "My siblings." He noticed neither seemed uncomfortable around the other, "Sorry, I had a chat with your mom and sister, Morgana, that Morgause apparently murdered. What'd I miss?"

"Morgana and I talked." Merlin said, "We're still a little touchy and we have had an agreement she won't eat or drink anything given by me unless someone was around the entire time, but only for a week or two to fully ajust to being in a body again. And I was just about to fix her wardrobe."

Arthur nodded and stood up, "Okay. You two do that, and I'll check on Gwaine and Percival."

"They're waiting bedrest with Lancelot right now. He's still sleeping because he was suffering from severe exhaustion, but visiting hours won't be over for a while, have fun."

Arthus smiled and left the two be, needed some serious beer.

…

Merlin cracked his knuckles, "What do you want me to fix?"

Morgana blinked at him and gestured to her whole body, "Everything! Morgause ruined me!"

"Agreed." He got an idea, "Hey, since your hair in unsavable, do you want to follow what we Keyblade wielders do in our culture? We cut out hair to symbolize new beginnnings."

"I'd like that. Do what you must."

And so Merlin did.

Morgana now had a pixie cut—Xion's hair style, not that either knew it—and was wearing a while mini dress with a v-neck, and pale green leggings with black boots like Kairi's. She also had nude makeup on, because there was no denying her natural beauty.

Morgana looked at herself in the mirror, "Wow. You know what you're doing."

"I lived with Aqua. Of course I know what I'm doing." He took her hand and dragged her along, "Come on, we're all meeting in Lancelot's hospital room while Ienzo tries to 3D print Freya a body, so I think it's time you saw them again as you. They're all cought up and understand it wasn't really you who hurt us."

She clung to him a little bit, "What if they still hate me?"

"Then you have Arthur, me, and all my Keyblade friends, because we all know the pain of the possession shit. And we all have a tendency to go into spontaneous comas. You'll fit right in."

For the first time in years, Morgana Pendragon truly laughed.

 **A/N: And the next chapter will have Lancelot waking up and more shit going down. And I feel it makes sense Lance ended up in the Realm of Darkness, because death means very little to Keyblade wielders—comas are another story. And I always have felt Morgana went too evil too fast, so this is my explanation. I give full permission to draw my new design for Morgana.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: The Nightmare Begins yet again**

Lancelot woke up to a blinding light that burned his eyes. He winced and slowly opened his eyes and found himself hooked up to many things, and his friends surrounded him. Aqua was sitting in the corner.

"W-Where am I?" He blinked a couple times and registered his wounds had been dressed. But how had he gotten here? The last thing he remembered was that monster attacking him while running. And Aqua! She had gotten away? He still half expected this to be a hallucination.

He found himself crushed in a hug from everyone. They were warm, and real, and loving. They weren't scorning him or hurting him, they were happy and all rejoicing that he was alive. A small part of him had wished for the monster to finally finish him off, but it seems Merlin had found him after so long.

"I'm sorry." He heard Merlin say as they all broke the hug, "I should have though of the possibility of you getting stuck down there, I would have looked sooner if it—" Lancelot shushed him,

"It's okay. It's not your fault. I made my decision, and look, Aqua is safe and sound." Aqua hugged him as well. "What have I missed? Because judging by your clothes, a lot."

They explained everything to him and he, for the first time, noticed Morgana hiding in the corner sheepishly, nothing like the Morgana he had known. He had been in the Dark Realm for three months, which was shorter than he would have expected from how much things had changed, but he wasn't sure he could have lived being down there much longer. He had no idea how Aqua had done it for twelve years.

"Morgana?" Morgana peeked out and it seemed everyone else noticed her too. It turned out he had been asleep for two days, and while everyone had forgiven the young priestess, she had yet to forgive herself, even though all the keyblade wielders—especially Riku, Ven and Aqua—understood her pain and related with their own tales of possession and Riku's PTSD.

"Morgana, stop hiding." Arthur sighed, and she sat on his lap, and it was adorable. She was pretty quiet, and she seemed to have settled from the shock of being free and the true horrors of what she went through slammed down and now she rarely spoke anything other than apologies. She ate food Merlin gave her, because she no longer cared if he did decide to poison her. And she screamed around fire, and refused to be around Lea—whose main element was fire.

Lancelot awed at how changed the king was. His demenor was strong and genuinely happy instead of a mask of arrogance. It seemed the temporary fall of his kingdom may have been healthy for him and his self confidence. He was human, with no right or wrong in anything but his own morals.

Aqua smiled a bit and handed him some water, "Drink. Your body may be recovered, but you still need to recover mentally. It isn't healthy for anyone to do down there that long, especially without a coat, armor, or a Keyblade. It's a miracle you didn't succumb to it. I'm not going to force you to talk to us, because I understand what you went through, but if you ever need to talk to Merlin or I, we'll be here." She no longer looked pale, and there was still a haunted look in her eyes, but she looked happy, happy to be with her friends in the sun.

"Thank you, Aqua." He found himself sleepy again and rolled back into the realm of slumber, or he thought he had, as he was back in the hospital room with Merlin, who was glaring at him with the eyes of that man who'd attacked him and Aqua.

"You really think I'm happy to see you? You should be dead!" He lunged for Lancelot's throat and the knight was too weak to fight him, unable to stop his friend from killing him.

"NO!" He shot awake and found Aqua still there, again holding water. Merlin was there as well, his eyes once again vibrant blue.

"Are you okay?" Merlin brushed Lancelot's hair back, and he noted his forehead was sticky with sweat. The moon was high in the sky.

"What happened?"

"You were asleep for awhile," Aqua explained, "Then you started crying and screaming Merlin's name, begging him to stop hurting you. We couldn't wake you, Merlin even tried his magic, and that woke you up."

Lancelot shook his head a little to try forgetting that nightmare, "I'm fine. The hallucinations just don't want to let go, and they got an update."

"Wanna talk about it?" Merlin held his hand, and Lancelot embraced the warmth in favor of the ice-cold hands that had been on his throat. Unlike what Aqua had explained, his hallucinations were always tangible, so there had been times he had genuinely thought Merlin had come for him, only to be almost murdered.

"Y-You tried to kill me. Your eyes…they were the darkest gold I have ever seen, like…"

"The eyes of evil?" Merlin suggested, before groaning, "That makes sense. Xehanort is apparently my birth father. Arthur had a similar nightmare when rescuing Morgana. I have too." He looked back to Lancelot, "I will never do something like that. If I go down, it will be driving my Keyblade through Xehanort's heart, not getting possessed by him." He hugged him gently but didn't hold on, letting Lancelot do that, beginning to cry once more. These two were his friends, they wouldn't judge him.

"Why can't I just forget? Why couldn't I have just died! Why couldn't you have found me sooner!" He was punching Merlin's chest, memories of the torment of Heartless and hallucinations coming back. He knew he was being irrational, and there was no way Merlin could have known, as they both had thought it would mean death, and he hadn't found Aqua for twelve freaking years. But he couldn't help but blame his friend just a tad.

"I'm glad you didn't die." Merlin put a hand under his chin gently, so their eyes met. Brown met blue ringed with gold. "I'm sorry I didn't look harder. But I will have you know that I did go down there, looking for you. I thought I was crazy and in denial about your death, and I blame myself for not looking harder and scratching the idea. If I had truly known you were down there, I would not have stopped looking, destiny and health be damned. You were the first person to truly save me from my depression, keeping my secret even in Camelot, and I treasure our friendship." Aqua joined in the hug,

"We're both safe now. We'll defeat Xehanort, and nothing bad will happen like that again."

They all fell asleep together like that.

OoOoO

Ventus sat on the roof of the flat they had rented in Radiant Garden, watching the sun rise like he used to when he was little. He was torn. He remembered everything, but he wasn't supposed to. When he first came here from the time of the Keyblade War, he hadn't remembered a thing about the war or being a Dandelion, everyone was just gone, and he was in a strange new place. When he met Merlin, the young boy's ever-growing powers had broken the spell and all his memories but one was back. He was surprised he hadn't gotten his memory back again when he lost it upon Vanitas' creation, but he knew there was no spell, and Vanitas had taken them—which was a great part of his suffering.

That one was who Strelitzia's killer was. Lauriam and Elrena's younger sister. Lauriam had told them how he had begged Master Ava to let his sisters into the Dandelions, but he couldn't fine Strelitzia after the war. But roughly a month later, he got fed up and searched her out, and came back screaming, holding her dead body.

Ventus himself still suspected Blaine, because something about that guy had always creeped him out, and how he had insisted Ephemer not look for Lauriam during his search. And they knew a Keyblade wielder had done it, because she hadn't actually been dead, but her heart had been shattered and was no longer in her body, she rested in a coma like Ventus himself had for so long. But eventually her body died, meaning her heart had been truly destroyed. Lauriam and Elrena had been crushed.

But another part of him was afraid it was he himself and that was another missing memory. He didn't know what kind of motivation he would have as Strelitzia had been one of his only friends before the war. Loners together. And he did distinctly remember Ava giving him a book. But that would explain why Lauriam and Elrena—Marluxia and Larxene—were on Xehanort's side, if he had killed their sister. Or maybe their grief had just drove them nuts. The way they were now was nothing like they had been, both had been sweet and kind, and Elrena was formerly pretty shy.

He remembered their current state through Roxas, Namine and Xion—the last one, he was the only one to remember her. The perk of Sora being divided among three was that he could switch who he was with at will. He spent most of his time in Roxas or Xion, learning from them and living through them with their friendship. When he was with Sora, he had been found by Namine, who began conversing with him and talking, and they had become good friends. She told him things, and tried to fix that one fuzzy memory, saying that not even her power could fix it, because it had been forcefuly removed from even being etched into his heart, so it could easily be his imagination. But she let him relive memories with Terra, Aqua and Merlin, and had told him her greatest wish was to have a strong friendship like that—a real one without memory warping.

He remembered Xion still because he had been within her at times, and for him to forget her would be like her forgetting herself. He later reminded Roxas of her when within Sora's heart together, and she would occasionally emerge. Roxas had forgotten her again when he became a real person, but that was because the form of him that was with them was the one taken into the false Twilight Town, when his memory of the girl he had loved was vanishing. Deep down, he still knew her, like Lea did, but she was consciously gone. Hopefully not for long.

He smiled a bit as the sun rose. He held out the palm of his hand and Chirithy appeared.

"Ven!" Chirity hugged his neck and he put a hand around her.

"Missed you Chirithy. I figured I should summon you again after so long."

Chirithy shrugged, "It's okay. I tried to tell Sora about you, but the boy was clueless."

"To be fair, poor thing was a human hotel, and I look exactly like Roxas, can you blame him? I've been connected to him since his birth, I'm practically a natural piece of him from his point of view."

"I suppose you're right." There was a noise and Ven desummoned her as Morgana came up the skylight.

"Oh. Ventus. Who were you talking to?"

"Hi Morgana. I was talking to…an old friend."

Morgana crawled up and sat next to him, "Merlin?"

"Even older friend. Like a pet, except she's bound to me, like all Keyblade wielders of my time."

"Huh? Does that mean Terra, Aqua and Merlin have one?"

Ven shook his head, "Can I trust you to keep a secret?" She paused, then nodded, "I'm actually from the time of the Keyblade War. That's why Xehanort was so fascinated with me. Chirithy is something all Keyblade wielders had back then, and she would turn into a nightmare if the wielder fell to darkness. I was about to ask her her opinion on something."

Morgana gaped at the revelation, "What were you going to ask her?"

Ven shrugged, the main cat was already out of the bag, "I don't know how I got here, but I do know the main leaders and myself had the Chirithies consume all memories of the war from everyone except ourselves, but something went wrong later, and we lost it too. The second I met Merlin, his magic gave me those memories back. But two of the villains, Marluxia and Larxene, and also like me, and they know how to get the X-Blade. I told Merlin how to get the blade, but I'm scared that if he encounters them, he might give them back their memories if they haven't gotten them back already."

Morgana frowned as they watched the sunrise in silence, "Vanitas?"

"Vanitas definitely knows, but while he may be insane, he has his own morals; he just wants salvation, so the odds of him telling Xehanort the truth are slim to none, because even he knows how badly that will go for everyone. The vessels will lose all that's left of their humanity if Xehanort does it. The reason he's so evil is because of Xehanort hurting him like Morgause hurt you, and I wish to save him. He was made from my depression, meaning he is incapable of being happy. I have darkness again now, having absorbed a bit of him, but…I would gladly give some of my light, so he would know happiness."

Morgana looked at him in amazement, "You care about him a lot. I don't think I'd do that for someone like him."

"Well, he and I are like Merlin and Arthur in a way. One cannot truly hate what makes it whole. But Vanitas needs me more than I need him, thanks to Sora, though I still want him to have salvation."

"Is that why Arthur has changed so much, he and Merlin are connected."

Ven frowned, "No. Arthur isn't changing at all, he's healing. When I met Merlin, I knew he only had half a heart instantly, and I went in search of his other half out of curiosity. I found an eight-year-old Arthur, breaking a druid awaiting execution of the cells. Uther found out not long after and almost killed him in rage. I healed him in secret, but he was mentally changed after that, his heart was damaged and broken, so he tried to be the perfect son for his father. Uther's prejudice broke both him and you. Looking at him now, and after going through the files, Merlin has been healing him, and teaching him to be his own person again, damn the consequences. I guess you could say, this is the real Arthur: a curious young man looking for his place and family in this world. He will make an amazing master one day, and a king worthy of legends."

"I always knew he was a better man than our father, but I never would have thought Uther would do that to his kid son."

"It was brutal. Ever wonder why the firplace is off when he goes into Uther's chambers in the rare event he enters that place."

"Wait." Morgana faced him, "Why didn't you stop it?!"

"I did in a way. I called Gaius and said the king requested to see him, and knocked out the guards. I wish I had done more, but Xehanort had been getting insistent on my return. If I had stayed any longer, it could have put Arthur in danger." He looked at her hand, "How long have you been a Keyblad wielder? I know you have one. One perk of being one of the first is that I can sense it."

She looked at her hand as well, "I had one briefly when I awoke my magic, but after the sleeping sickness and Morgause weakening my heart, I lost it. I had used it a bit, but I had forgotten it for the most part because I only summoned it a couple times. I don't know how to summon it again, and until Xehanort is defeated, I don't want to. Can you keep my secret?"

He held out a hand, "Sure. No promises if Aqua finds out, because she's always had a knack for sensing it too, she might tell, but I won't." They shook hands.

OoOoO

Merlin, Leon and Arthur were walking home from the grocery store when the Heartless came around again.

"Come on!" Arthur threw his hands to the sky as his Keyblade summoned, "They're like the bandits back home! You can't go out once without finding them!" He and Merlin took them out pretty quickly, and Leon didn't drop the groceries.

"Merlin!"

Merlin and Arthur turned and saw Hunith running towards them, she clung to her son desperately.

"Merlin, you can't be here, you need to run!"

"Mother, Arthur knows about my magic and is okay with it. Deal." He sounded polite, if not slightly bitter.

"No! You don't understand! Your father is coming for you! He enchanted me when I refused to give you to him upon your birth, forced me to hurt you so you'd run. Please, if he finds you, he'll destroy you!"

"I'm safe mother, I'm a strong Keyblade Master, and I have my friends."

"That's not good enough, I heard him talking a minute ago, he found you—!" She gasped and fell to the ground, and both Merlin and Arthur saw a lazer arrow in her back.

"Damnit, you ruined the surprise!" A dark corridor appeared and Xigbar emerged, followed by Xemnas and Master Xehanort himself. Xehanort looked between Hunith's dying form and his son's shocked face, before settling on Hunith, picking her up by the collar,

"You shouldn't have said that." A blast of darkess, and Hunith fell limp and flopped over like a ragdoll.

Merlin looked at him, enraged, "XEHANORT!" He ran at him and they fought, but the all forgot about Xemnas, who slammed a sorcerer cuff on Merlin's wrist. He screamed in pain as the cuff glowed. Xehanort grabbed his other wrist as Merlin was severely weakening, and it made Arthur—who was frozen in place—want to vomit.

"Now Merlin, is that how you talk to your father? No." He began dragging him with surprising strenghth for an old man, "We're going back to the castle, and you're going to tell me where the X-Blade is, like a good son. You got Aqua and Ventus, so you owe me."

"I…owe…you…nothing." Merlin tried to break free, but the cuff was doing its job and he couldn't even stand. And that was when Arthur snapped out of it,

"Take me!" They all turned to him, either startled or horrified, "I know where the X-Blade is. I am not your son. Do what you want with me, just let him go."

Xehanort softened and let go of Merlin, letting his hand drop to the ground, "You're not lying, I can tell. But why would you, the king, sacrifice yourself for your servant boy. I know you're his other half, but have you seen Vanitas and Ventus interact."

"He isn't a servant. He is my legal brother, Crown Prince and heir of Camelot, Merlin Emrys Pendragon." He suddenly felt something leave him and he felt safer. He had done it when lifting the ban on magic, but he had never told Merlin or anyone. There was a chance he wouldn't survive the war, and Merlin was a much stronger warrior. He was confused that Xehanort thought he was telling the truth, but maybe that vision Vivianne had given him had provided him with the answer and he just didn't know it?

Merlin just looked more horrified as he fingered his chest weakly, "Arthur, don't…"

"Deal." The cuff transferred from Merlin to Arthur, and he had to admit that even for him, that thing burned, so he couldn't imagine what it had been like for Merlin. Xigbar grabbed a hold of him and dragged him towards the dark corridor while Xemas held a still weakened but actively enraged Merlin back.

Merlin would be safe, and that was the last thing he thought before going through.

…

Xehanort sent one last longing look at Merlin, who was fully ready to flay him alive as an anti-form began activating.

"You have no idea the dark powers you possess, my son, you will join me soon. And if getting you to succumb is finding his body dead, then so be it." He and Xemnas vanished, and Merlin let out a deafening roar to the heavens. Arthur was gone, and his mother was dead, all in the span of five minutes.

Leon took Hunith's body and guided a livid Merlin to the flat, calling Aqua to explain what just happened. Everyone else got the explanation and Ven and Aqua held onto Merlin to prevent him from activating anti-form fully, because nobody wanted to risk letting that happen. He was too powerful and too angry to let that blow over.

"And then he was gone." Leon finished explaining, and he looked to where Hunith's body was rested on the table with a white sheet over her head. He looked back to Merlin, who was finally coming back to himself, he bowed, "But as you are now regent king, Prince Merlin, I will gladly serve you."

Gwaine nodded, joining the bow, "As will I."

"As will I." Gwen, Elyan and Percival.

"As will I." Lancelot through facetime.

"As will I." Gaius didn't bow, he remained seated by his sister's body, but he bowed his head.

"As will I." Ven and Aqua. Followed by Sora, Riku and Kairi, then Roxas and Lea.

Morgana smiled, "Arthur could not have chosen a better regent." She bowed as well, "As will I."

Merlin stared at all his loyal friends and held his Keyblade high, "Let's go find the king."

OoOoO

Xigbar slammed Arthur into the wall as they entered the castle in the World that Never Was. Xehanort emerged a second later,

"Okay Arthur, I did what you asked, where is the X-Blade?"

Arthur rubbed the back of his neck, "About that. I said I knew where it was… I never said I'd tell you. And now Merlin and Ventus know what to expect."

He had expected Xehanort to remain smug, he did not expect to be slammed into another wall with enough force that he might have gotten a concussion.

"Lock him up, you know where." The cuff burned again, and Arthur found himself weakened yet again. As Xemnas dragged him by the arm down the hall, Xehanort followed,

"Brilliant trinket, isn't it. I took one of Uther's cuffs and modified it. The more magic you have, and the more I want to hurt you, the more it burns and weakens. You have your birth and your Keyblade, so it sould barely bother you, but I want you to be weak. And it also prevents you from summoning your Keyblade, so don't try to run." He was thrown into an iron coffin which was locked shut and he was locked in darkness, hearing Xehanort's voice one last time.

"I will break you Arthur Pendragon, and you will belong to me."

 **A/N: And now Arthur has been kidnapped, lovely. There will be a tad bit of torture, but most will just be mentioned or implied.**

 **And as for the Lauriam, Elrena and Strelitzia thing, it said "our" technically when translating Japanese to English, and I know it is probably one or the other, but I decided it would make sense if they were a sibling trio, since they are seemingly close in Chain of Memories, so I just kept it "our." And there was also an explanation as to why Ven has his memories when the I am guessing he won't until KH4 or longer.**

 **And make sure to please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Warning – Torture.**

 **Chapter 13: Making a deal with the devil and a break for it**

It had been a week since Arthur was taken and Leon knew Merlin was about to pass out.

Because everyone had sworn allegiance to him as King of Camelot, that meant he not only handled the knights, but everyone else, and since most of them were self-taught or hadn't been in a war before, they had no idea what the hell they were doing, and Merlin had to organize them into patrols and shifts. And not only were they looking for Arthur and Xehanort, they were trying to find a way to get Terra back, keeping tabs on Maleficent and Pete—though they didn't seem to be doing much—looking for the mysterious black box, which had gotten Ventus very worried for reasons unknown.

Not to mention, Merlin's connection to Arthur meant he couldn't sleep because he was too worried, and the connection had snapped. He revealed to them that in sacrificing himself and naming Merlin heir, his heart transferred to Merlin—which again had Ventus worried—completing his own heart. Fortunately, this meant Xehanort couldn't 'Nort' him, and anything he endeavored wouldn't traumatize him forever, but there was no way Xehanort wouldn't twist that fact that Arthur didn't have his heart but was still fully active and aware to his advantage.

And then there was the fact the knights and Gwen had insisted on being trained like a Keyblade wielder was, which was brutal since they didn't have the enhanced anything. Masters Riku, Mickey, Aqua and Ventus—that last one had been a shock to Aqua, but everyone else understood the second they saw him fight—oversaw them. Morgana refused to train, and Merlin helped her with her normal magic. Lancelot had gotten discharged from the hospital, but he slept on the chaise in the living room, so people could tend to him and check for nightmares. Oh yeah, they had gone back to the Mysterious Tower.

There was also protecting the world order, like checking world for Heartless, Unversed, and Nobodies. Sora and Roxas oversaw that, and Merlin had mentioned wanting to name them both official Masters, because Sora had rebuilt his skills a good four times now from nothing to extremely powerful; and Roxas had had a brutal year of solid work with few breaks.

Finally, there was the fact he had been having Riku assist him in fully harnessing his dark powers, so things didn't go to shit. In his time, such a thought would cost you the mastery—see Terra—but nowadays it was smart. He was pretty good with it when calm, but it turned to his antiform was like when Aqua got Norted, Ienzo had ran tests to show them what it looked like, not quite mortal, but not not human. His anger was the real key to the problem, and the fire to protect his loved ones, so he had started doing meditation.

All in all, Merlin was even more busy than in Camelot, and he kept a floating coffee machine with him at all times because he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep for a week and had severe dark bags under his eyes. Nobody, not even Gaius or Ventus, had seen him like this before.

"Merlin, get some rest." Leon suggested, "Ventus can handle things." Ventus, as senior master and longest companion of Merlin's, had been named deputy and second in command.

Merlin shook his head and took another sip of coffee from the giant mug in his hand, "Not until Arthur is safe. Every time I close my eyes I think about what Xehanort said, about finding him dead."

Leon had to admit, that statement had haunted him as well. "Merlin, please, you will be no help to Arthur if you're dead on your feet. I'm sure Ienzo will find something—"

"No, Ienzo's busy helping Freya." He rubbed his eyes, which had dulled significantly due to exhaustion and fear. Honestly, if it weren't for magic, Leon wouldn't be surprised if Merlin hadn't even cleaned himself or changed clothes—thankfully, at least his magic wanted him to not drop dead and did it for him. In Leon's mind, that was how the young warlock had stayed alive during Uther's reign with the endless chores and three full time jobs.

To say his respect for Merlin had heightened during this ordeal was an understatement. He had always had a small sense of respect for him, even as a supposedly scrawny servant boy, due to his lack of fear and willingness to ignore propriety—he was willing to die for Arthur when they had barely net, let alone been friends. He knew Merlin worked a lot, but knowing he rarely got any sleep, suffered from depression, went down to hell constantly in search of a lost friend, worked three full time jobs, had had a metaphorical axe over his head, Keyblade Master since he was ten, had been kidnapped, emotionally abused as a child, and was still the faithful guardian of Camelot…comparing that to the boy he had seen as bubbly and innocent was insane. Merlin had never really been a 'boy' as he lost that a long time ago, he had been a grown man in a boy's body all that time and still managed to hide it. And this was why Leon saw that Arthur could not have chosen a better regent, and Merlin would make an amazing king—though since he was Emrys, he kind of was the King of Magic…they'd have to discuss that later.

Still, if there was one thing he got from Arthur, it was his insane stubbornness. If Arthur had doubts, he could be swayed differently, but if he got his mind set on something, there was no stopping him—and Leon suspected it was only because they shared a Heart that Merlin had managed to stop him from killing Uther that day.

Merlin shrugged, "It's fine. We'll find Arthur, and I will take a long nap—not that I will leave his side and if he moves I will too." He waved and walked off to meet with the Restoration Committee of Radiant Garden.

"He's gonna break under all the pressure." Leon turned and saw Lea standing there, "When I lost Roxas, I was dead set on getting him back, but that by no standards means it was healthy. Sure, I kidnapped Kairi to do it, but I also wore myself down so much that using an attack to wipe out some dusks destroyed me…or Axel…" He shrugged, "Merlin is extremely powerful, but to my knowledge, he's also mortal. Is there anyone else who could talk him into getting rest? It's only a matter of time before the stress and exhaustion gets the attention of his darkness."

"We've all tried, even Aqua and Ventus. If they failed, I don't know who, short of Arthur, would succeed. He's stubborn, and if he doesn't want to rest until his king is found, then he won't."

"So, you have faith the king lives?" Roxas came over, "Remember what you said to me, Axel. You can't turn on the Organization, you get on their bad side and they'll destroy you."

Leon was surprised that while Lea corrected everyone else, Roxas got away with calling him Axel. They were extremely close though.

"I think we would know if Arthur was dead, and I doubt Xehanort would get rid of him, likely use him to bait Merlin into a trap." He sighed, looking at the floor, "I just hope we find him before that happens."

OoOoO

Arthur did not know how long he had been with Xehanort, namely because he wasn't certain the old man hadn't forgotten about him for a while, because they had just left him in the iron box which was more than a little uncomfortable. They hadn't fed him, and the box was pitch black, and he was both parts anxious and bored, so there was no real way to tell the time.

That lasted for a while before a guy with blue hair and an X on his face—if he remembered correctly, that guy's name was Saïx, but he had never been given a name, so he went with that—dragged him out of the box and began torturing him for information. For the most part, it hadn't been too bad, and he had been trained to deal with it, but stuff like his current situation was not favorable.

He was strapped to a table, shirtless, and they had left him there in his own thoughts for a while. Xigbar came in at one point or another and left one of his laser arrows in Arthur's hand that he couldn't unclench, so that was burning horribly, and it was his dominant hand too. But honestly, were they cocky or lazy about watching him? Because he had been working on the chain they kept on him attached to the cuff for a while and it was gradually worn through. For all they knew, he could escape at any time.

Were they trying to lure him into a false sense of security? It was hard to tell, because every member of this Organization had their own style. The only ones he wasn't aware of that he had encountered were Old Man Xehanort, Vanitas—shocker, right—and the mystery figure wielding the Kingdom Key—the figure he had seen battling Roxas in that vision.

He was brought from his musings by Saïx coming into the room, resting his Claymore by the table. He grinned wickedly, and it made Arthur's skin crawl and his stomach knot up,

"How shall we play tonight, Highness?"

He hated the way Saïx addressed him. It wasn't like Merlin's playful insults, it was more "Let's see how powerful you are when I'm done with you." That expression didn't help things. Arthur's lip curled back from his teeth.

Faster than he thought possible, Saïx gripped his throat hard enough to bruise, "Such fire, even now." His fingers dug into Arthur's throat, and he couldn't help the choking noise that gasped from him, "This can all be over if you just answer the question. It never even had to happen." He almost purred, dropping low enough that his breath brushed Arthur's mouth, "A few words, and you and I will part ways forever."

Tell him the thing he didn't know, which meant lying, and getting hurt more; or mention his vision, risk getting it right, and not only sacrifice Merlin, but everything else he knew and cared about. He'd never do it.

Saix's grip on his neck loosened, and he inhaled deeply. He made a move and Arthur jerked his head away, baring his teeth again, daring him to try anything. And Saïx struck him. Not in the face, where he could risk being bitten, but on the king's unprotected stomach.

The breath slammed from him, and his chains clanked as he tried and failed to curl onto his side. His fingers curled, scraping the stone as if it were Saix's face.

Saïx picked up his Claymore, and he smiled darkly, "I think you know what I'm going to do to you."

Arthur braced himself, taking deep breaths that would hopefully take him away from his body, even if only for a minute. He'd never let these people break him.

The Claymore rose over his knee, Saix's breath sucking in, anticipation and delight mingling on his face. This was something he'd expect of Vanitas, but the masked boy had been avoiding him during his stay, and he found it odd, as he knew Ven's darker half had gotten the chance to torture him but chose not to. Terranort didn't either, but he did mock him in his iron box.

He tried to imagine his friends, Merlin, Morgana, Guinevere, all those happy memories they shared, like saving Ealdor.

It didn't stop the Claymore from coming down.

Or the scream that tore from his throat.

OoOoO

"Arthur!" Morgana shot awake from a nightmare. Her brother being tortured, hearing him scream as a heavy object slammed into his gut and watching him slip into unconsciousness…it was awful.

And that was why she was throwing up into the toilet. She missed Morgause's healing bracelet, the one redeemable quality of that witch. Merlin still had yet to find a way to suppress her visions short of locking that power away, which would require Namine—and thus began the quest to get Namine back.

"Are you okay, Mor?" Merlin came in, voicing the nickname Sora had come up with. Morgana preferred that nickname over her real name, because it felt more like a friend than nobility. She gripped her younger brother—Arthur was the eldest, she was the middle child, and Merlin was the youngest; they were all two years apart from each other.

"Merlin! It was awful! They're torturing him! That guy with the blue hair swing this big star thing—a-a-and slammed it down on Arthur's bare stomach! He screamed until he was unconscious, and they threw his bleeding body in an iron box!"

Merlin stroked her short hair, "We're gonna find him. We're gonna find him." He was shaking, and Morgana wasn't sure if he was assuring her or himself.

OoOoO

Everything hurt, his stomach especially. He felt like he wa going to die, and the fact he was sweaty, hot, cold, and stiff, as not helping matters.

He blinked a couple times and registered the pith black of his box. He gently prodded the wound on his stomach and sucked in a breath to avoid tears. He brought his wet finger to his nose and sniffed it. Blood. He had also felt at least one broken rib that he hoped didn't make its way to his lungs.

He had stopped feeling hungry a while ago, but he also noted his rib cage was easier to feel. Lovely, he was starving.

For a moment, he wondered what had woken him, because he had been hoping to just sink into oblivion until someone saved him or he got enough strength to do it himself.

He winced as the box opened, and he saw the form of an unfamiliar Organization member with shoulder-length blonde hair. Even, right? Or maybe Vexen? Either way, it was the same guy. Or not, because Arthur's brain felt rather fuzzy.

To his shock, Even—as he decided to call him—held his head gently and slowly had him drink a potion.

"Swallow, just hang in there, Merlin's looking for you, don't give up."

"Wha…" He felt the healing wave wash over him and his mind cleared a little bit, and he was able to sit up a little, "Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm on your side, posing as Xehanort's vessel. A spy alongside another. My name doesn't matter, because I know you have an idea and that works for now. I can't get you out, but I can leave your box open and supply you a change of clothes, but the rest is up to you."

Arthur blinked again and winced as the burns on his hand acted up, "How can I trust you?"

"You can't, it's your choice. Escape, or stay here." There was a noise in the hall and Even forced him back in the box, "Lord Xemnas, I was just checking on the prisoner, making sure he wasn't dead."

"And does he live?"

"Yes, though he's a bit feverish. He's too weak to be getting away even without the cuff."

"Very well, the superior has a task for you." They both left, and Arthur lifted the lid a little, before shifting a bit. Even came back a few minutes later and he shut it again,

"We're to be on assignments, all you need to worry about is Xehanort, Xigbar and the mystery figure. I hope I don't see you soon." He left, and Arthur opened the lid fully, stumbling out of the box and falling over as his legs felt like pudding. This was the first time he had walked in a while, in favor of being dragged places. There was an Organization coat and a set of black yoga pants and a black t-shirt that he slipped on with more trouble than he'd like to admit—but he was still quite injured, so he had a legitimate excuse.

He looked through the white hallway and saw a couple dusks, so he pulled his hood up and walked past them with no problem. Just one issue: Even hadn't left him a map, and this castle was huge, he had no idea how to get anywhere other than the torture chamber.

Well, there was nothing he could do about that, but he knew the missions took a while as Saïx would only leave for lights out and missions. He just prayed he would encounter Xigbar or the mystery person. And it was quite odd not even members of the Organization knew who he or she was.

"Way out, where is a way out?" There were stairs, but there were also hallways every which way, and it was only a matter of time before someone noticed he was gone.

Eventually, his walk turned into a limp as he started losing hope. This was not good, not good at all. What could he do? If he could get the cuff off, then this would be easy, but that could set off an alarm.

Wait, no, he was King Arthur Pendragon! He had been trained to be a honed warrior since he was a child, he had lived his whole life without the Keyblade, so why rely on it now?

Newfound determination filled him, and he set off again, finding a huge door. That had to be the exit. Otherwise it was impractical. He opened it and wanted to die.

Xehanort was sitting alone at a large dining table, two plates set out. Xigbar and the mystery figure stood on both sides of the elderly master, who looked Arthur dead in the eye, seeing through the hood.

"Arthur, how kind of you to take time out of your failed escape to join us." He sounded innocent enough, but the look he had on his face was nothing if not smug, "Sit. You must be hungry."

As if on cue, his already painful stomach growled at the smell of food. But he just stood, lowering his hood. If he ran, that would lead to the box, no food, and likely more torture, not to mention the cuff to catch him; if he ate, then he'd still go to the box, but at least he'd have food in his stomach. He sat down in the spot and looked at the food. But he was still wary,

"It's not poisoned. If I was going to kill you, I would give Saïx no limits, meaning there is no reason for me to kill you now." He looked to his two companions, "Leave us." Xigbar looked angry, but reluctantly left with the mystery person. As soon as the door shut, Xehanort gave Arthur an odd look and put a hand to his forehead, before sending a look to his stomach. Dark magic swirled around his fingertips as his hand hovered over Arthur's bleeding stomach and the wounds closed and the internal bleeding ceased.

"Why did you do that?"

Xehanort shrugged, "I can't have you dying on me, you're too important. That, and I actually want my son to not want my head on a spike."

"About that," Arthur reluctantly took a bite of a grape, "how is he your son? I thought Hunith would have been loyal to Balinor, and…"

"I'm old." Arthur nodded a little, more than a bit disturbed that the guy who ruined the lives of countless children was having a somewhat casual conversation with him. Xehanort chuckled, "You are aware I have plenty of young, attractive versions of myself in this Organization? But as to your question, Merlin, in a sense, has two fathers. He was sired by Balinor, but during my travels, I encountered Hunith when she was pregnant with him, and I sensed his power even in the womb, so I went to the witch, Nimueh. In exchange for changing his DNA to my own, I was to get him off that world and keep him away, as he was the one destined to kill her. He inherited the Dragonlord gift from Balinor, but there is no other way to tell he is the son of the Dragonlord."

That was odd, but at least Hunith really had been loyal to Balinor. It also explained why she was so reluctant to give up her baby, "But why? Merlin's powerful, sure, but you seem strong as well."

Xehanort's mood darkened, "In truth, I never meant to care for him, I wanted to use him as a vessel. My first candidate was Ventus, but not only did he refuse to use darkness and made a show of being weak, he is something special and has many things a seek." Arthur frowned a bit, picking at the food, enraptured by this. But what psycho would possess his own son?! "But then the unthinkable happened, I met him, raised him…and I felt nothing but love for this child and knew he was the one thing I loved more than my goal. He was never meant to see what I did to Ventus in my attempt to force the blade to be made, I wanted to teach him as my right-hand man, bring peace to the universe together. But alas, that is a dream that won't likely pass, unless I can get him to succumb to the darkness."

"If you love him so much, why have you made him miserable? Why go through all this trouble?" he felt a familiar anger bubble up inside, "Why did you ruin countless lives just for your goal when you had a son who at one point loved you!? How could you be so—Heartless!"

Any look of emotion was gone, and the smug look was back, "You're one to talk, Pendragon. Need I remind you of the lives you ruined for your father."

Arthur flinched, "I've changed, and if you know so much, you should know I hated doing that."

"Yet you still did it to please your father." He smiled, and it was disturbing, "I'm not judging you, I'm just pointing out that you shouldn't be judging me. But we can change that, together. If we start the world anew, with the power of the X-Blade, I can set of another reality." The room around them began to blur, and Arthur found himself in the nursery of Camelot. His four-year-old self ran in happily, followed by both his father and very much alive mother, who was holding a two-year-old Morgana.

"Mama! Can I wake up the baby?"

Ygraine chuckled, passing Morgana to Uther, "Sure, Arthur."

Little Arthur jumped up to look in the cradle, where a baby Merlin was sleeping peacefully.

"Good morning, Merlin!" Baby Merlin opened his eyes, and Adult Arthur noticed there was no ring of gold around his eyes, but they did flash gold as a pillow floated around. Little Arthur giggled and picked the baby up,

"You're so special, Merlin. I love you."

Uther looked down at the baby too, "Why is it, that neither you or I have magic, Ygraine, but both Morgana and Merlin do?"

"Maybe it's because they're better than you, Uther." Agravaine walked in, and he wasn't wearing black, but blue. He picked Little Arthur up, who was still holding baby Merlin, "And you're still my favorite, Arthur, just like your mother."

"Agravaine, stop, all my babies are special." Agravaine kissed his sister's forehead,

"Of course, but Arthur is my firstborn nephew."

Adult Arthur looked to Xehanort, "What is this?"

"Your dream. In this reality, you, Merlin and Morgana are all pure biological siblings, your mother lived, there was no purge, and your father never turned into a cruel tyrant. Later you shall marry Guinevere will no troubles as Ygraine will show Uther that it's fine. He'll step down when out turn twenty-one and will be your most trusted advisor with your siblings. Merlin's destiny will be much easier as the prince in a free-magic world. Later, when you summon your Keyblades, Eraqus will come with his grown pupils, who live happily, and you all shall become friends again."

That sounded like a dream come true. "And if you got the X-Blade, you could do this."

"Correct." They were back in the dining room, "So don't you see Arthur, we could have utopia!"

Arthur smiled a little, that sounded amazing, no pain, no lives ruined, but he still had questions, "Merlin's eyes didn't have the ring of gold, why?"

"Having your pupils ringed with gold means you are born of magic. That's why you have it, and with my alterations to his birth, Merlin has it. But not in that reality." He held a hand out, "Join me Arthur, tell me the simpler way to get the X-Blade, and none of your friends will have ever suffered."

That offer was too perfect to pass up, Merlin would understand, "Okay. I'll take you in the morning, but for now, I'm exhausted."

Xehanort's grin was one of a man getting everything he wanted, "Perfect. Xion! Take the king to his new chambers." The mystery person, Xion apparently, came in and lowered her hood for the first time. And Arthur found himself noticing how much like Kairi she looked. Her hair was white, but styled much like Morgana's now, and her eyes were gold. She looked at him and guided him down the hall to a room with a real bed and was in no way a prison. She took his hand and deactivated the cuff as it fell to the floor, and he felt a huge sense of relief, though the burns where it had been were brutal and probably infected. Xion wrapped it with some bandage wrap, before raising her hood once more and leaving the room, shutting the door behind her.

Arthur sighed and looked out the window at the surprisingly beautiful city below. What he was doing was dangerous, but Merlin would understand. They would be reunited soon.

 **A/N: Yes, Xion got Norted. Is Arthur evil? Has Xehanort lured him in? Review to find out!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Fever and Betrayal**

"We aren't far now." Arthur stumbled a little as he led Terranort, Master Xehanort and Xion across the badlands of the Keyblade Graveyard. He still felt the onset of a fever that had yet to be treated, but the cuff was off. Xehanort insisted he would be completely healed as soon as they did this, so…

He closed his eyes and imagined where he was going from his memory. In his defense, this place was huge, and he had never been here in person before.

The wind picked up and dust spun around them and Xehanort grinned, until his eyes widened.

Lingering Will stood up.

"XEHANORT!" The armor stood up and dove for Terranort. Xion tried to fight Lingering Will off but got flung into a cliff wall by a keyblade shift to a giant gun. It all happened so fast, suddenly Terranort was unconscious and Lingering Will was stabbing himself.

"No!" Xehanort roared and Arthur shrieked as the burning feeling returned and the cuff was back to burning his infected skin. It was worse than anything he had ever felt, and his scream went silent as his vocal cords gave out and it turned into a choked sob. Any magical assistance he had been given vanished and his vision was getting increasingly blurry.

…

Lingering Will had been waiting for so long, and here the moment was, returning to his body. Merlin was in danger, and he knew that because while he couldn't see anything other than pitch black, he felt his youngest friend's aura.

But when Terra opened his eyes in his own body for the first time, he saw a bloody blonde young man in a black coat, crying quietly. He still had Merlin's aura.

He pushed his joy at being in his body again to the back of his mind, making sure Xehanort was nowhere to be found. He ran over to the man and examined him. His skin was burning, and he clearly had a high fever, and he was on the brink of unconsciousness. It was then that Terra saw a cuff on his wrist glowing red. He summoned his Keyblade an unlocked it, and the youth—because he was younger than Terra himself, with this man being in his mid-twenties while Terra was technically in his early thirties—sighed in relief, opening his eyes to reveal eyes identical to Merlin's. Maybe that was why they had a very, very similar aura, they were both born of magic.

"Hey, can you speak? What's your name?"

The youth shivered and closed his eyes again, "…Arthur…" He barely breathed out, and Terra would have removed the black cloak if he didn't know it would protect him from the darkness when they traveled through the lanes between.

"Okay Arthur, do you have any family or friends I can take you to?"

"Sister…Morgana…Brother…Merlin…"

Terra gasped, grinning a little, "Young, raven hair, eyes like yours, way too much magic than he should?" Arthur smiled weakly and nodded, before going completely limp.

"Hey!" He shook him, "Arthur! Stay awake!" He found it awful how light this youth was. And he didn't know where Merlin was, because their home had been destroyed, and Merlin would never go back to his home world regardless of his promise to Ven. What about Ven and Aqua? Were they still alright?!

Still, Xehanort would probably look for the two of them soon, so they needed to hide. He threw his Keyblade in the air and summoned his hoverbike. _Hang in there, we'll find our family…_

OoOoO

"I said five laps! Not one and a half!" Merlin clapped his hands together. He had reached the point of worry and exhaustion that he was snappy, and no amount of begging would get him to rest. Mor's nightmare of Arthur being tortured had not only made Gwen burst into tears and the search parties double, but Merlin had stopped eating as well. He looked like a walking corpse.

Everyone was scattered across the mile-long track, lying down and gasping for breath.

"M…Mate…you're killing us…we've been training all day without break…" Gwaine gasped, clutching his chest. Merlin put his hands on his hips, his eyes flashing gold with the power of the old religion as he gathered them all on the picnic bench.

"You said you wanted to train like a Keyblade Wielder." He snapped, "And this is how you do it. We don't even get an endurance boost for a long time, so this is what I went through at age five. Deal with it." He groaned, conjuring hamburgers and water, "Eat." They had all stopped asking him to rest, because it just annoyed him. This was the equivalent of rest, because Ven had forced him to stop looking for Arthur for a full two hours that they knew he was timing. They didn't blame him, because the whole reason they were going through this wretched training was because they wanted to help. They also knew the snappiness and overall not acting like anything more than a strict teacher was the fault of his exhaustion and worry. They were already extremely stressed out, and they also knew Merlin felt much worse.

Merlin massaged his temples, "Sorry I'm so hard on you, I just have no patience for anything anymore." He took another sip of coffee that was no longer helping as much, "I'll have Riku train you when he gets back. For now, hit the showers, you all reek."

"How do Keyblade wielders not?" Gwen asked, wincing at the stench of her companions, "Ventus smells like fresh grass no matter what."

"Magic."

They all hit the showers and napped while Merlin went back to Ven.

"Anything?"

"Yes, well…maybe…there's something going on. I just counted the darknesses. Counting Even and Myde, there are fourteen, I think Xehanort's adding on for some reason. Even if he finds out about them, that's twelve, meaning one short." He bit his lower lip, "I think Xehanort still wants Sora."

Merlin tensed, "Because he can't get Arthur."

"Yeah. But he's wanted Sora for a while. I thought it was to get me or you, but when I was more active within Sora, Young Xehanort was taunting him like he did during the Mark of Mastery, and he lamented his concern on the matter to me, thinking they wanted Roxas, which is also possible."

Merlin crossed his arms as he sat down, "Can you call Even?"

"I guess." He pulled out the communicator, "Even?"

Even picked up in a dark room, _"It's kind of a bad time, Xehanort's livid. He suspects a traitor too."_

"What happened?" Merlin asked worriedly, "Arthur?"

" _Is a lot cleverer than you give him credit for."_ Even said, _"I tried to bust him out last night, but he ran into Xehanort. He pretended to relent and join the Organization and led Xehanort and Terranort straight to Lingering Will instead of the X-Blade. Terra's back. But apparently Xehanort made the mistake of leaving your king to die, but when he went back in search of them, Terra and Arthur were gone. The Organization is looking."_

Merlin felt more joy than he had felt in so long. Not only had Arthur tricked Xehanort into getting Terra back, he had escaped! The problem was that the universe was huge, so they could be anywhere."

" _I warn you though,"_ Even said, _"Arthur had a rising fever last I checked. I'd check worlds with medical care."_

Merlin's stomach plummeted, "Thank you. I'd go now, Even." Even hung up and Merlin ran out of the room, Ven tailing him,

"Merlin! I'll alert Sora's, Riku's, and Roxas' teams, we'll find them."

"Them?" Mor came over.

"Arthur escaped and got Terra back, but he's sick and we have no idea where they are. Fortunately, neither does Xehanort." Mor sighed in relief.

"Find them. I'll inform the others."

Merlin nodded and activated his armor, leaving in search of his friends.

OoOoO

Terranort had apparently had a lot of munny on him, so Terra getting his body back also gave him enough currency to rent a hotel room in Twilight Town, which he rested Arthur on the bed—saying the younger man was simply exhausted when sick, not on the brink. He also got a thermometer from the front desk and purchased a set of pajamas. He stripped Arthur down, applying bandage wrap and various ointments on his wounds. Then he checked the blonde's temperature. 103 degrees Fahrenheit. Fuck. 105 was a medical emergency, 110 was practically a guarantee of death. He needed to get Arthur's temperature down, fast.

Well, they were both men, so this couldn't get more awkward, and there was a bathtub in this room. That would work. He left to fill up the bathtub with icy cold water and grabbed a chilled water bottle to put on his forehead. He would take Arthur to a hospital if Xehanort wasn't probably looking for them, and that was why he burned the Organization clothes the second he got another outfit for Arthur, lest there be a tracker on them.

He could tell Arthur had been starved for a good chunk of time, so he needed food as well. Terra made a note to get different clothes for himself to make it harder to identify. Once Arthur was at least conscious and stable, then they'd hit the road in search of Merlin and this 'Morgana'. So, Merlin had found his father, and had two half-siblings?

The bath was filled, and Terra picked Arthur up and quickly set him in the bathtub. He watched Arthur's face carefully as the water flowed over his schorching skin, the first expression he saw was a grimace; then it faded into a calm, more content look, the furrows between his brow disappearing.

…

Arthur wasn't sure what was going on, all he knew was he was cold, for the first time in a while, he felt truly cold and it wasn't during torture. He wanted to sleep. His eyes burned, and his head hurt, and his wrist and hand still hurt like hell, but he was cold and that was all he cared about right now.

He opened his eyes just a crack and saw the worried face of Terra staring down at him.

"You're awake." He felt Terra's hand, blessedly cool against his skin, against his forehead, "I think your fever's going down. The bath's warming up though. Can you walk and dress yourself, or do you need help?"

Arthur felt exhaustion hit him again. He tried to sit up, only for his ribs to scream in protest, "Yeah…help…please…"

…

Terra nodded and helped him out of the bath and dressed him. He redressed the bandages—because he felt rather stupid to have dressed them, then put Arthur in the bath, meaning he had to remove the dressings. But he was no doctor, so who could blame him? He checked Arthur's temperature again: 101. Normal fever, that was a little better.

He turned and saw Arthur was asleep again. He smiled and pulled up the comfertor. He turned to the phone and called for some room service of a steak and fries for himself—because Aqua wasn't around to lecture him—and soup for Arthur.

Arthur woke up again a few minutes later, "I heard a phone…"

"I was just getting food, because you need soup and as me, I haven't eaten anything for years." He grinned, "I never got the chance to thank you for saving me."

"It was nothing. Merlin wanted to do it, but I got the chance."

"It wasn't nothing." Terra sat on the bed, "You could have died, and you still aren't out of danger." He sighed, "So tell me, how's Merlin doing? Anything on Aqua and Ven?"

It took awhile, but Arthur was able to recap his time with Merlin, and Terra was genuinely shocked Melin had returned to Albion. But Ven and Aqua were alright, and that was good. He held his wayfinder and held it to his chest. It was shocking Aqua of all people had fallen to darkness for even a second, but hearing his successor had overcome it and was a master made his heart happy.

Explaining took a lot out of Arthur and he fell asleep until the food came.

"Thank you, ma'am." He shut the door, "Arthur, food's here." Arthur was still out cold. He felt a jolt of fear and shook him, only for Arthur to wake up.

"Hm?"

"I'll let you sleep as soon as you drink this broth." He held out the chicken broth—he had asked for soup, and he got broth, that was a waste of fifty munny—"Need help?"

Arthur shook his head and took and bowl, drinking it slowly but gratefully, downing it rather quickly. He laid back down, "Thank you, Terra."

Terra nodded, "It's nothing. Once your fever breaks, we'll hit the road, hopefully Xehanort won't find us yet. Get some sleep, you need it." And Arthur was asleep again. Terra got himself situated on the couch, setting up his chain spell around the room to protect them through the night so he could sleep as well.

 **A/N: Next chapter will be out soon with Terra and Arthur on the run (kind of) and Merlin racing against his father to find them.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Lost and Found and Healing**

"Look, Mr. Emrys, we'll do everything we can. You look exhausted and shouldn't be searching in your condition."

Merlin slammed his hands on his counter at the police station in San Fransokyo—starting everywhere the vessels have been—he knew full well how tired he was, but that did not mean he'd stop searching for Arthur and Terra.

"Do you have siblings?" The officer nodded, "And what would you do if they were both taken away right in front of you?" The officer paused, looking startled at that revelation.

"I'll admit I'd want to help, but you should leave this to the police."

"Listen, I have not slept in ten days, I am tired and frustrated, but dear god, whatever it takes, I'm going to find them. Please, I'm not asking for help, just for someone to point me in the right direction."

The officer sighed, "You said they were taken by a man in a black coat? Sounds like a couple weeks ago. Go search out the superhero team, Big Hero 6, they fought against a guy like that with some newcomer."

"Thank you!" He ran off and searched them out with his magic, pinpointing a school, where he found multiple teens and a giant robot.

"Who are you?" The youngest asked. The big robot blinked at Merlin,

"He appears to be malnourished, overtired, and in distress."

"I-I'm Merlin, a friend of Sora's, are you Big Hero 6?"

The young woman with honey blonde hair sat him down, "Okay Merlin. Here, let me get you something to eat."

"Honey Lemon, I think he needs more than something to eat." The dark-skinned one said.

"I need help. My brothers…" he did consider Terra an older brother, and it was easier than saying brother and friend, "Does the name Organization XIII mean anything to you?"

"Yeah." The youngest said, "Those guys in the black coats that control the Heartless? Why?"

"My brother, Arthur, was captured by them and managed to save my other brother, Terra. They escaped, but I don't know where they are and our guy on the inside said he was very sick and Terra can't heal and—"

"Calm down." The girl with black hair said, "Start from the beginning, that sounded like gibberish."

So, he explained again, learning the names of the rest of the team. Honey Lemon came back and gave him some soup that he drank gratefully, not wanting to be rude even though it didn't sit well in the knots that were his stomach.

"Merlin, we'll look around and alert you, but we haven't seen anything." Hiro said, "Come back if you have any luck, and tell Sora we say hi."

Merlin nodded, sighing, "Thank you."

OoOoO

Terra sat Arthur down on the bed in the hotel in Radiant Garden. They had to keep moving, because he had spotted Xemnas on a rooftop in Twilight Town, but Arthur's fever still hadn't broken, it had gone back up. He really needed a doctor or a healer. He was only delirious half the time, and that was good.

He wasn't very lucid at the moment.

"Where's Merlin?" Arthur looked around as Terra put a cold compress on his forehead, "I want Merlin."

"Merlin isn't here right now, we're looking for him. I promise."

"I can't feel him." He started squirming, "WHERE'S MERLIN?!"

"I don't know." Terra was very thoroughly confused. Arthur couldn't feel Merlin? Was there something he was missing, or was the fever to blame for this outburst? He just tried to calm him down, "Shhh, we're okay, we're going to find them. Do you want me to go look for someone who might know?" Arthur nodded,

"Take me with you. Please."

"Your fever, Arthur, you can barely stand, and you're still injured."

"I'm fine, I'll be better when we find Merlin." The young king summoned his Keyblade and leaned on it, using the blade like a cane.

Terra sighed. This young man had Merlin's stubbornness, there was no stopping him when he had his mind set on something.

"Fine. But tell me, what do you mean you can't feel Merlin?"

OoOoO

Sora enjoyed having Roxas around, getting to spend time with his sort-of brother. It had been faster then expected, but apparently when Ven's heart discovered an active Merlin, it jumpstart Roxas as well—because…reasons? He wasn't complaining, so he just rolled with it, as it was not the strangest phenomenon compared to him being a human hotel.

They had been searching for days now, tirelessly, and Roxas was clearly stressed out.

"Roxas?" Sora walked to the ice cream shop in Twilight Town and grabbed two bars of sea salt ice cream, "Want some?"

Roxas nodded, "Thanks." They walked down the road together, ignoring their responsibilities for a few minutes. And one day, they'd be able to do this all the time…

OoOoO

Merlin was now in Radiant Garden, he wasn't sure where would be better to search, because this was a world with medical care and Terra knew of.

"Hey Merlin!" Merlin yelped and saw Ven smiling.

"Oh…Ven…you startled me."

Ven laughed, "Sorry. I want to help. Remember? I promised Terra I would find him, so I will. Besides, this way we can divide and conquer."

Ienzo came running to them, "Merlin, Ventus, I'm glad you came. Freya shall be done with restoration in the hour, and then all she needs in rest. But that's not all, Leon and Yuffie just got reports of two newcomers, one supporting the other."

"It's them!" Merlin and Ven sprinted down the stairs.

…

Terra had known it was a terrible idea to bring Arthur, but it was the only way for him to have peace of mind. But it had been half an hour, and he was supporting the blonde's weight more than anything at this point.

"Arthur, just hang on, I'm taking you back to the hotel."

"No…they'll find us there or if we're moving. I'm fine."

"You'll kill yourself."

Arthur looked up with a weak smirk, "When have any of our shared friends been not reckless. If you've seen the shit Merlin and I did on a daily basis in Camelot, this is nothing."

Terra chuckled, "True enough. But if you pass out, you can't stop me from taking you back. We don't know who we can trust, or I'd go to the castle."

"That's unfortunate." Both men froze, "Because they could have been your saviors." They both turned slowly, dreading what they would see, and they saw Larxene and Marluxia, both with their respective weapons. Larxene reached for them,

"You're both coming with us." There was a flash and Terra gasped.

Ven and a raven-haired young man were blocking them, but Ven seemed distressed.

"Elrena! Lauriam! Please! This isn't you!" What? Marluxia—Lauriam?—scoffed,

"What do you know, boy?" Ven cried out, attacking with his Keyblade. The raven-haired man guarded him and Arthur, the latter perking up,

"Merlin!"

Wait…as the young man turned, Terra saw those eyes, and he knew. Arthur hadn't told him Merlin had aged, only that Ven and Aqua hadn't, which led him to the conclusion Merlin was the same. He had expected a child, not a dashing young man. The Keyblade was the same too, Merlin had ever been one for Keychains because his base weapon was always stronger.

And there was another thing, it seemed Ven had gotten his memory back, because not only did he know those two by another name, he was kicking their asses with skills Terra had never seen, but Merlin didn't bat an eye at. He had clearly missed a lot.

Both Lauriam and Elrena were thrown into a wall, and Ven calmed, tears in his eyes,

"Don't you remember? Lauriam, you were the most level-headed of us, why you?"

Elrena laughed, "Ventus, do you really not know? People change." She summoned a dark corridor and they both vanished, and it was debatable if they heard Ven shout,

"What about Strelitzia?! Do you think she'd want this?!"

Arthur sighed in relief, falling into Merlin's arms, tears coming from both.

"You found us…"

Ven walked over, "I kept my promise, Terra."

Terra felt hot tears fall down his face, "Yeah. You did." He captured the younger boy into a tight hug, grabbing Merlin as well. Merlin squirmed away,

"Okay, let's save the tearful reunion for when Aqua's here and Arthur isn't in immediate danger with a sister and a girlfriend very worried about him." He picked Arthur up, and unlike with Terra, there was no arguing, he just leaned into his brother's warmth and fell asleep.

And suddenly they were back at the Mysterious Tower.

"How?"

"Please, I'm Emrys, and I'm in a rush. Ergo, I'm omnipotent, and should start acting like it."

"Merlin!" The four turned and Terra saw three women running towards them. One was Aqua, looking as beautiful as ever, one had raven hair and pale green eyes, and the third had long curly hair and mocha colored skin. The raven-haired girl paused, "Is he?"

Arthur smiled, "I'm okay, Morgana. Tired." The dark-skinned girl kissed him passionately,

"Thank god. We were all so worried."

Aqua looked at Terra with pleading eyes, "Terra?" He nodded,

"It's me." Before anyone could start crying, they were trampled by a ton of men.

"Arthur!" And then they were in a herd, until Arthur was changed and rested in a bed next to another young man identified as Lancelot.

"Guys, please, I'm okay."

Guinevere frowned, "Tell that to the high fever and injuries." Morgana and Merlin were using magic and the blonde king sent his girlfriend a pointed look. Merlin crossed his arms,

"I can't help the fever. You're going to be on bedrest for a while."

Lancelot smiled a little, "At least I have company in this room while everyone's busy."

Aqua pushed everyone short of Mor, Merlin, Terra and Ven out of the room. Mor and Merlin were sitting by the bed,

"Well…get some rest." Morg turned to leave, but Arthur took her hand,

"Stay. Both of you…please?" Merlin frowned,

"I can't sleep, I'll watch over everyone."

Arthur chuckled, "Merlin, you look like you got into a fight with a raccoon, the raccoon won, and it Norted you." That earned laugher from everyone, and both Pendragon siblings relented and snuggled up against the big bed while Lancelot watched from another bed, smiling.

When the others were asleep, Aqua clung to Terra and Ven, sobbing happily.

"You're back…"

"Yeah." He looked to Merlin, "Merlin's so grown up."

"Yup. And broken as hell. So welcome to the club, I guess." Ven said, "But you have to admit those three are cute."

Aqua nodded, "Yeah. They're all really sweet. At least Merlin's finally getting some rest." Ven walked over and poked him. Merlin was out cold. The others were in light sleep, but Merlin was practically in a coma. He chuckled,

"Should I remove his heart, so he sleeps?" Terra ruffled his hair,

"No Ven, it's Merlin we're talking about. It will take 13 years to find it."

Aqua smiled, "Terra? Do you still have it?"

Terra pulled ou his wayfinder, "Of course."

She nodded, setting a red and gold wayfinder in Arthur's hand. He didn't stir. Mor opened her eyes a litte, smiling at Terra,

"Thank you for caring for him." She fell back asleep. Lancelot smiled in Aqua's direction and fell asleep as well as the trio left the room, only to be bombarded by everyone else.

"How is he!?" Guinevere asked.

"He's fine." Ven assured, "Merlin's magic worked like a charm. He'll still need to rest though. You can see him in the morning, but Merlin's finally asleep, so please let him sleep."

And everyone suddenly shut up, silently celebrating.

Terra yawned, "I'm tired. May I go to sleep?"

Cue (quiet) laughter from everyone.

 **A/N: A couple worlds, reminders of Union Cross, the Pendragons are reunited, and the next chapter will have some feels, be warned. I discovered the leaks, and I'm changing some things I didn't approve of—the** _ **two**_ **things I didn't approve of—because I've already changed a lot. So…thumbs up.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Vanitas**

After five days, Arthur was well enough that he was stir crazy. With the help of Merlin's magic, the fever had broken, but not even Ienzo knew how to fix his wrist and hand, so it was possible it was useless until future notice, but the aid of magic made it not hurt.

Lancelot was able to get out of bed and walk short distances, so he spent his time reading in the study with the fairies. There were still remnants of neoshadow poison and the PTSD, but it was only a matter of time before he was back on the field.

Merlin had slept like the dead for three of those days, and he was back to his cheery self, and Terra being back made things even better; and that was the return of the active Terra and Aqua shipping, which was a comedy show for everyone. And since Arthur was back, things were back to the way they were before, with nobody in particular being in charge of everyone.

"Merlin, please? I'm so bored!"

"How can you be bored, there are so many things to entertain you!" Merlin said in exasperation, but his brother just rolled his eyes,

"I'm a warrior, _Mer_ lin, I need to be in on the action."

Aqua walked over, "Well, the four of us are going to unlock the Land of Departure for a bigger place to stay. We could always take you with us."

"Can I go too!" Sora ran over, "I want to see!"

Terra shrugged, "Sure. Why not? Though Merlin, why didn't you turn it back?"

"Because I didn't have the Master's Keyblade. I could go though because I was one of the ones to lock it, but I couldn't change it back." Because that made sense.

Ven shrugged, "Oh well, it doesn't really matter now. Let's go!"

OoOoO

"No matter how many times I hear it," Sora said, "I still cannot believe this is the same world as the Land of Departure."

"That's the point." Merlin replied, holding the Master Defender with Aqua, "Arthur, you better watch this, we're about to key-beam the fuck out of this door." And so they did, and Castle Oblivion shifted into the Land of Departure—even adding mountains!—Arthur gasped,

"It's beautiful."

"Yeah. It really is." Terra held out a hand to Aqua, "Shall we?"

Aqua took his hand as the other grinned like idiots, "We shall." They walked through the castle and fund themselves in a dining room, and there was a gorgeous painting of five people, the apprentices and their master; judging by Merlin's age in the painting, it was probably a year before Xehanort ruined everything. All of them had such innocent light in their eyes, with not a hint of the despair that could be found now.

"Can I keep this and take it back to Camelot?" Arthur asked, "I need a way to identify one of the noble families." Ven paused,

"Noble families?"

"Well yeah, since I adopted Merlin as my legal brother, his family would thus be considered nobility as it's the family of the prince."

"Take it then," Aqua said, "We need to get another painted with everyone." She shed a tear, "I miss the Master…"

"We all do." Merlin agreed, bowing his head in respect. He looked up, "Anyway, there are still so many things for you guys to see!" He practically skipped down the hall in front of the group, but froze in his tracks.

"What is it?" Arthur walked over to him and also froze.

Vanitas was sitting on one of the thrones, looking in their direction.

"Well well, what do we have here? All my enemies, and both my brothers."

Ven and Sora got in a defensive position while the other three went offensive. Vanitas got up,

"I guess this means we're going to have to fight. Hmph. Fair enough." He vanished, and came down behind Aqua, sending her flying into the opposite wall.

"Oh hell no!" Terra snapped, running at the masked boy and attacking him, only or Vanitas to send fireballs.

Sora, Ven and Merlin didn't have such a problem, and as such were able to dodge every attack and counter it with one of their own. Arthur decided to run to Aqua as his dominant hand was the one with trouble, "Heal!" And she got up,

"Thanks."

"No problem, now go kick his ass."

Aqua looked up as Terra ran over to her, "I think those three have got this."

Merlin's hands turned charcoal black with purple-black bubbles floating around his hands, and it grazed over Vanitas' mask, causing the mask to turn to dust and crumble. Vanitas looked up, and Sora gasped,

"Your…face…"

"I'm the half of Ventus that was taken away, you were what made him whole again. So why shouldn't you and I look the same? The three of us are brothers that complete a whole."

"So why don't you fight alongside us?!"

"I do. I am the shadow you cast. How much closer could I get? I am darkness."

Sora was about to speak, but Ven stopped him, "I didn't ask for this. You have a choice, not just light, and not just darkness."

This earned laughter from the Sora lookalike, "But I did choose this. I chose to be darkness."

Merlin looked ready to attack again, but it was Arthur this time who held him back, softening to the point the young warlock was reminded of when the king spoke to victims of raids and purges.

"No, you didn't. Xehanort made you think that, but you are just as much of a victim as the rest of us. You have light in your heart, or at least you know mercy." He took Vanitas' hands in his, "Everyone has a choice, and you let someone else make it for you. Let me show you." Vanitas shrieked, falling to his knees, but Arthur didn't let go.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked in interest, while Ven and Sora were horrified, and Terra and Aqua had expressions as if to say, 'hit him harder'.

"When I was with the Organiation, and Xehanort was trying to recuite me, he accidentally showed me what he did to Vanitas, so it stands to reason—"

"You can undo it." Sora finished, watched as Vanitas cried gold, "Okay…why is he crying gold?"

"I'm expelling Xehanort's influence, and the window to the heart and soul is through the eyes, he's crying it out. It's painful, but he'll live." There was an explosion, sending everyone flying back. Merlin helped his friends up, but Sora and Ven ran to Vanitas. The bodysuit was gone, leaving him only in a black coat with nothing underneath.

"Vanitas?" Vanitas looked up, and his eyes were dark green. He started crying, normal tears this time,

"I just wanted to be whole." His crying turned to full blown bawling, "He said…if I…forged the X-blade…the pain would stop…" Ven smiled warmly,

"Hey, it's alright. I forgive you. We are brothers after all, as you said."

Merlin blinked, staring at Arthur, "Wow. Looks like you do have a special talent."

"I am a king, cabbage head, so I must be extraordinary. I will not allow my manservant to be better than me." It was purely sarcastic, and Merlin grinned a true grin,

"It will take me a while to not expect him to turn around and murder us, but if you and Ven trust him, I'll give him a chance."

"You're a better person than me, Merlin." Aqua replied, "But I guess I can try."

OoOoO

What was this feeling? Vanitas didn't know, but it wasn't pain, and that was good. Being with his three brothers, it didn't hurt, it was this bubbly feeling in the pit of his stomach. No pain. But he couldn't place it as he had never felt it before.

For as long as he had existed, he had only felt pain, anger, irrtaion, sadness… this created the Unversed, and with every one he destroyed, it brought a moment of relief, then the negativity would return, and he would be in pain again, leading to more irritation, more Unversed, and the cycle continued.

A never-ending cycle of pain.

This, from what he had heard, was like self-harm, and he needed healthy coping mechanisms. When Sora had heard that, he's gotten sick and swore to never kill an Unversed again, as long as he avoided summoning them.

And now, he had to try when summoning Unversed, and even manifesting simple irritation took a lot out of him.

He looked down at his clothes. He had on a black shirt and blue jeans with red sneakers. It was simple, but it was much more comfortable than that bodysuit. Then he looked in the mirror, still trying to figure out this feeling. He saw the corners of his mouth pull up, a very strange feeling. He still found it strange, looking in the mirror and seeing a human being, not a monster. Then the feeling faded and turned to all familiar sadness.

They had given him a second chance, but did he deserve it? Was he a monster?

It was this self doubt that led to him looking out the window at the large group of friends below, laughing and training. Did he deserve that kind of friendship?

There was a knock on the door and the girl he learned was called Mor came in,

"Hey." She set down some steak, "Ventus asked me to bring you some lunch. He also said you could come down for training if you wanted, you didn't have to be cooped up in here."

He looked between her and the food, "Why are you being so kind to me? Haven't you heard what I've done?"

Mor sat down on the bed, "I've seen it firsthand. Don't you remember me? Lady Morgana. The witch with Queen Annis." And now he remembered her. She looked different, had more of an innocence to her, but once he had that name, he could see it. She continued, "Well, it was technically my sister, Morgause, possessing me, but there were times I could see what was going on, and that was one of them. You were tricked my someone wicked, and got turned into a monster, I can relate."

"But Xehanort didn't turn me into a monster, I was created to be one." He looked out the window again, "I was led to believe I chose to be darkness, so why wouldn't I be? Do I deserve forgiveness?"

Mor got up and stood by the window beside him, looking down at the laughing groups down below. Terra was helping Percival while Aqua and Merlin assisted with magic practice for the younger wielders.

"Monsters are not born, they're made. And I am more of a monster than you." Vanitas looked up, startled, as she looked down at him, "Have you killed someone?" He thought about it…

"My Unversed might have, and I've _tried_ , by I myself have never succeeded in killing someone."

"Did you know that even in my right mind, I worked with traitors of the crown to kill my father, who I thought was my guardian at the time. I chickened out, but I tried multiple times, and almost brought Camelot down unknowingly if it hadn't been for Merlin poisoning me. Then I held a grudge, even though I knew that he was just following his loyalties. Then I summoned an undead army and dozens of people died, just because I hated Uther. That was the last thing I did as me, though I wasn't exactly in my right mind, but my point is, Vanitas, if everyone is willing to forgive me, they can forgive you."

He sighed, squeezing his eyes shut, "I just want to be normal. Why am I weak!?"

"You're not weak. Just go down there and train, show them how it's done."

He looked at her and nodded, "Okay…" She walked down with him,

"Guess who I got out of his room!"

A man with long hair and a beard came over, "Vani! Glad to see you've joined us, mate. Now that you're not insane and going to kill us, show us what you got. I remember watching you and Merlin fight, and it was awesome."

"Oh…I—uh…" To Vanitas' shock, Merlin put a hand on his shoulder,

"Come on Gwaine, give him a break, if he doesn't want to, he doesn't have to. But how bad can it be? It's just training. Just go easy on 'em."

"Hey!" Gwaine snapped playfully.

Vanitas felt a laugh escape him, but not one of mocking—well, just a little. He teleported behind Gwaine and summoned his Keyblade, knocking him down. The other knights cheered Vanitas on, clapping him on the back and laughing at Gwaine's expence.

He felt the corners of his mouth raise a bit, and Ven took his hand.

"You're smiling."

Smiling. He'd never really smiled. Smirked, sure, but if he was smiling…was the feeling he couldn't identify happiness?

"Am I…happy?"

"Well I would hope so." Sora said, "You're not our shadow anymore, you're you. You don't have to hide, and I'll save you a whack at Xehanort."

"We all deserve one." Roxas added, "Might as well just tie him up and use him like a piñata."

Everyone laughed, and Lea came over with a huge crate of ice cream.

"Who wants ice cream?" And then it was gone, savagely eaten in three seconds. Ven handed one to Vanitas,

"Eat up, it's kind of a ritual of friendship around here."

Vanitas took a bite, his eyes widening, "It's sweet…but salty…"

Kairi grinned, "Welcome to the club."

"The wants-to-kill-Xehanort-and-eat-ice-cream club?"

Arthur came over and ruffled his hair, "Well, we're called the Guardians of Light, but yeah, pretty much."

 **A/N: And Vanitas is a good guy now. In the Birth by Sleep novel, Vanitas went through shit just like the rest of them, so he is now a part of the team. His eyes are green because blue means good guys, gold means bad, so dark green would be fitting.**

 **And remember to please review!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Me: *squealing* JHCGXGCKJHMCVHJ! BVHKVHKJ!**

 **Merlin: *stunned* What?**

 **Uther: *as a ghost* *shouting* She's speaking in tongues! Sorceress! Kill her!**

 **Everyone: ….**

 **Gwaine: Wait, I can translate drunk!**

 **Sora: I think she's happy, Gwaine.**

 **Gwaine: Ah! But happiness is a type of drunk! *clears throat***

 **Me: #YF DF$BJ#LBKL BNKB JJK2d!**

 **Gwaine: *humming along* Oh! That's wonderful darling! Good for you.**

 **Terra: Well, what's she saying?**

 **Gwaine: Oh, she's just excited to have reached 1000 views on this story, and she loves you all. Apparently, she was hyperventilating so much she got stuck like this.**

 **Me: JH#FJI#JFN$IHKJ#BIJ IN!**

 **Gwaine: She says has a vague understanding of Japanese and has KH3 at home in the Japanese dub and is using partial quotes, viewers looking to avoid spoilers have been warned, but apparently a good chunk has been taken out of the situation in the game, such as Vanitas gives zero fucks in the game and doesn't turn good.**

 **Ven: Um… what?**

 **Vanitas: I don't give fucks anyway, but what does that have to do with anything?**

 **Arthur: She's a Baka, okay?**

 **Merlin: *appalled* When did you learn what "Baka" means?**

 **Arthur: It means idiot in Japanese, of course I know it, I need some way to identify you, because you're still an idiot.**

 **Mor: Just don't question it.**

 **Aqua: … Gwaine, she's still going, what'd she say?**

 **Me: ie34bdiIVIVIUF!**

 **Gwaine: She says ENJOY!**

 **Chapter 17: The Keyblade War**

To say Master Xehanort was frustrated was a severe understatement. He'd had so many plans, but the addition of Arthur Pendragon threw them into disarray. That boy—and since Xehanort was over eighty, he had the right to refer to the twenty something man as 'boy'—had gotten rid of two, name it _two_ , of his most _trusted_ vessels, and he had another traitor in his midst too!

This was why he used pure versions of himself, he mused, because the idea of Xemnas, for example, betraying him was laughable to say the least. But still, he had some loyal followers. Braig had been with him since the beginning. But seriously, this was getting ridiculous. Arthur was the Lightbringer, and that was a serious unexpected problem

But when he thought about it, this was fine. He had himself, Young Xehanort, Xemnas, Ansem SoD, Xion, Saïx, Larxene, Marluxia, Vexen, Demyx, Luxord, Xigbar and Replica Riku. That was enough. He still had hope Merlin would end up in the ranks too, but those chances were getting lower with each passing day. And worst case, he could always go grab Maleficent or one of the other Apprentices of Radiant Garden, or just get another version of himself.

But still, Merlin had way too many potential guardians on his side, so he could even grab or kill a couple of them. The Keyblade War was coming, and as long as the X-Blade was forged, it didn't matter.

OoOoO

Merlin found himself impressed.

Vanitas, as it turned out, was quite good with the apprentices, and was in general a relatively normal teenager. Ven was right, because they were formerly one in the same, his other was a lot like him; he was still guilty and a little depressed, but that wasn't out of the ordinary. If he hadn't seen Vanitas when he was crazy, he would see them as the same person. He was mischievous and played pranks, but so did the knights. His voice also had a much less drastic tone of someone lacking sanity, his voice was deeper than Sora's, but it was close, and much different from his evil period.

But it was time for him and the rest of them to be put to the test.

"Everyone, gather around." Everyone gathered around, and he looked among all his loyal friends. Freya wasn't back yet, she was still out of it because the replica they got from Even was old and slightly faulty, so he would see her if her survived this.

"Today, we will battle Xehanort. I am only bringing a select few of you though, the Keyblade Wielders. The rest of you need to guard Kairi."

"What?!" Kairi protested, "I'm ready!"

"Indeed, you are. But Xehanort wants you, so he will target you, and you aren't ready for all of them at once. Nobody is, not even the Nobodies. We can't risk having you be taken." Kairi huffed and Sora sighed,

"Kairi, it would make me feel better if you stayed here. Please?"

She sighed, "Fine. Stay safe." Leon bowed to Merlin,

"We'll guard her with our lives."

"Good." He turned back to the crowd, "Are you ready?" Everyone cheered. "Okay then." He raised his Keyblade, summoning a portal, "Time to go give Xehanort what he deserves."

OoOoO

The Keyblade Graveyard was no different than usual—barren and dead. But they were in an area closer to the badlands.

"Wow." Arthur awed, "This place is even creepier than I imagined." He jumped as he felt an unexpected tap on his shoulder and saw Mor standing there. "Morgana! What are you doing here?!"

Mor held her hand out, and a black and silver Keyblade appeared, the Druid symbol was the keychain.

" _Witch's Awakening_. I've had it for a while. I wanted to help."

Sora threw his hands up, "Riku, remember when I was the only Keyblade wielder? Nowadays everyone has one!"

"Particular my ass." Vanitas agreed. Dust started picking up and everyone turned and saw…okay…what?

Morgana was standing there. Or…Morgause? It was Morgana from before they saved her, with her crazy hair and black dress. She looked up and her eyes were Xehanort gold.

"God damnit." Lea looked to Mor, "So…is this your fight? Or can we all deal with her?" Morgause vanished, appearing right in front of Roxas, hitting him in the gut and sending him flying backwards.

"ROXAS!" Lea shrieked, sending Firaga at the witch, which was easily deflected. Arthur ran to Roxas, "Heal!" The blonde remained immobile. The sword must have been enchanted to knock him out or something.

Morgause frowned, "Oops. Wrong blonde. I was supposed to go for Ventus. Oh well."

He didn't notice Morgause go for the kill until Sora and Riku summoned a limit of the sort, holding a Keyblade together, and slicing through her, causing an eruption of darkness, and she vanished.

And then the demon tide came.

"What?!" Aqua froze, and was about to be swept away, when Mickey jumped and cut through, saving her barely.

Ven smiled, charging the colossus of Heartless, and jumped straight in,

"Ven!" Merlin followed, and realized he saw complete light, Ven was there, and in the center was a boy with white hair and a scarf muck like the ones Merlin himself used to wear.

"Ephemera…" Ven smiled, and Ephemera returned it,

"Need some help?"

Ven nodded, "Yeah, thanks Ephemera."

And then they were chucked out of the Demon Tide, where Terra healed them.

"Are you guys okay?"

Ven nodded, "Yeah. I was just asking for assistance from an old friend." He looked in the direction of the cliff and they all gasped as hundreds of Keyblades flew through the sky, destroying the Heartless.

"Keyblade wielders from the past…" Aqua breathed, watching it in awe.

Riku frowned, "How did you—"

"It's a long story." Ven explained, "One that I don't have time for right now. Come on, the rest of the vessels are waiting."

"What about Roxas?" Lea was holding his young friend in his arms, tears in his eyes. Ven smiled sadly, brushing his hand against Roxas' cheek, "Wake up."

Roxas stirred and opened his eyes, blinking in confusion, "Hm? Axel? What happened?"

"You got knocked out, that's what happened." Vanitas explained, "Ventus used his powers to cancel out the dark magic."

Aqua looked intrigued, "When did you learn how to do that? And how did you summon the Keyblades of the past?"

"Again, long story. I promise I'll explain everything, but now is not the right time." Vanitas nodded his agreement at that statement.

They heard footsteps and saw a younger Riku walking towards them in an outfit similar to Vanitas' old outfit, including the unflattering skirt.

"Just send out the big bad!" Lea snarled. Riku's eyes widened,

"You!"

Mickey came in front to explain, "The Organization's been using hearts. Ones Xehanort has got into in the past and has influence over. So that must be you from when Ansem had control of your heart."

"Yeah." Riku agreed, "How could I forget?"

Evil Riku smirked, "I'd say that was our finest hour."

"Wrong." Riku retaliated, "My hour of weakness."

"You sure? How about we find out." And now there was a giant shadow Xehanort above them, "A real test for the Mark of Mastery!"

"What did you say?!" Riku snapped, but never got an answer as Xigbar appeared,

"We gotta make sure you're not blundering your way towards a second failure."

"Blundering?" Lea asked, "I'll have you know we failed with style, _chief_."

Xigbar shrugged, "At least you admit it. Well, if you guardians and traitors…" he sent Vanitas a pointed look, earning a very familiar death glare from the green-eyed ravenette, "think you brought the goods, you'll have to prove it to the old guy one last time. Kid, take it away."

Evil Riku complied, and now there were hundreds of Heartless.

" _This_ again!" Sora complained, earning a chuckle from Merlin,

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Sora. As I said, the novelty of being a Keyblade Master wears off fast."

"This isn't good." Mor shouted, blocking Arthur from a strike from the demon tide as the siblings performed a limit, wiping out a fair number. While Arthur's hand injury made it hard to wield his Keyblade, he could use magic and perform limits with no problem, and he wasn't completely helpless as he was mostly ambidextrous.

"Form up now!" Aqua ordered, and everyone complied with her, "I'll try and break through, everyone get ready."

"Alone?!" Ven asked worriedly, "That's crazy! I'll help!"

"Two is no better." Roxas said, wielding both Oathkeeper and Oblivion instead of the Kingdom Key.

"How about three?" Terra asked, smiling to his friends.

"How about an army?" Everyone turned in shock to Vanitas, "What? I'm expendable and overpowered; and if I'm going to atone for what I did, this is the way to do it." He shrugged and leapt an inhumane height, a burst of dark energy shooting out of him, creating hundreds of Unversed, which were fighting the Heartless.

"Help…" Only Ven heard him whisper as he fell to the ground too fast to survive. And it was Riku who caught him.

"Go…" Vanitas exhaled, and it was clear he was getting weaker as he not only shared the pain of the Unversed, he wasn't pure darkness and even making one exhausted him, to create hundreds made it a miracle he was conscious, but it was also clear he wouldn't be for much longer, "I can't…keep them…much longer…hurry…"

Mor threw out her hand and a pathway was formed as the Heartless and their dimishing numbers were pushed back,

"Come on, I can't hold it for long." They ran at top speed and barely made it out. Riku set Vanitas down in a rest point,

"Vanitas, you can stop now." Aqua wrapped a blanket around him and gave him a potion, "Mor, can you stay with him?" Mor nodded, "Catch up with us when he's rested." Arthur put a hand on his sister's shoulder,

"Stay safe."

"I will." She gave him a reassuring smile and the rest of the group ran into the Keyblade Graveyard, where Xehanort and his vessels were walking towards them. He smirked, slammed his Keyblade into the ground, and buildings appeared from the ground and created a labyrinth. The buildings were raising, Xehanort and his followers atop one,

"Now we shall forge it, the ultimate key." The darknesses vanished and Merlin's eyes changed to magic gold,

"Okay, they're using a buddy-system, so we will too. Riku, Mickey and Terra, you go right, that's where Evil Riku and Xigbar are. Roxas, Lea, and Sora, you go left, that's where Saïx, Xemnas and another I can't identify is. Ven, you go forward with me and Arthur, that's where Luxord, Larxene/Elrena and Marluxia/Lauriam are. We already handled Morgause, and Young Xehanort **,** Ansem and Master Xehanort are towards the back. For some reason, I can sense a second Vanitas, so I'm a little worried about that; but Aqua, you, Vanitas and Mor can investigate that when they get back." He looked around, "Everyone got that?" They all nodded their understandings and went their separate ways.

OoOoO

"I got to say," Arthur mused, "You're good at being a tactician."

"That's one of the things I sadly inherited from my father. But I also went to all your boring meetings, so that helps." He turned to Ven, who looked distant, running his hand along the walls of their maze, "Ven? You okay?"

Ven snapped out of it, "Oh, yeah."

"Bullshit. What's wrong?" Arthur frowned when he realized the blonde's eyes were misty.

"This world is what's left of my true home. We constructed the city in data, the other survivors, but…"

"Ephemera." Merlin realized, true realization dawning on him, "Was he a friend?"

"Yeah, he was one of the survivors. The leader of our group. Lauriam was another, and his sister, Elrena was with us, but not a leader. Seeing this place as a ruin is just hard on me."

Arthur put an arm around Ven, "We're your friends too, I can't tell you to suck it up, because you've kept this hidden from us for a long time, and once this is over, I'll be a shoulder to cry on."

"Thanks." Merlin shushed them and they all pressed themselves to a wall, peaking over where they heard voices, but they couldn't see. Ven held out his hands and a creature appeared,

"Chirithy, can you investigate?"

"Of course!" Chirithy chimed, floating away and coming back a minute later, "There are three people there, I think two of them are Lauriam and Elrena?"

"Yeah." Chirithy vanished and Ven looked to the two dumbfounded others, "Let's go."

"Um…okay I guess." They ran after Ven, who was in a staring contest with his former friends while Luxord just watched the encounter awkwardly. Then he was done and surrounded them in cards,

"Because I feel like a sixth wheel here, one final game. The rules are simple: find me in the cards and strike me down." He jumped into the cards, but nobody was really paying attention,

"No, I'm good." Merlin said, snapping his fingers and all the cards burst into flames and Luxord was on his knees, but tossed him a card, "What's this?"

"A wild card. You've earned it."

Merlin smiled a little "Play again someday, when we're just guys, and I'm in a better mood."

"I would like that very much, Emrys." He vanished and Ven was still in his staring contest, not even blinking.

"Well, now for them," Arthur mused, "Ven, do you need to go?"

"No, we're going to save them. I may not be a grand master, but I do know how to fight." He summoned his Keyblade, and he fought. Merlin and Arthur looked between each other, because this felt like something Ven should do, but two against one seemed unfair. So, Arthur decided after a second to assist,

"Water!" He dumped water on Larxene while she was performing her electricity spells, and it electrocuted her.

"Are you kidding?" She complained, falling to her knees.

"You're gonna be recompleted." Ven said happily, "And maybe you'll finally remember."

Larxene groaned, "I didn't ask you for your garbage opinion. I lost to a bunch of losers like you!" She shrugged, "But…could be worse. Become that geezer's heart tank? No thanks."

"Then why help him?" Merlin asked, Larxene just gave a nonchalant gesture,

"I was really just along or the ride." She smiled a little and vanished. Merlin had been holding Marluxia back, but unleased him… and dumped vinegar on him **(A/N: Vinegar kills plants)**. Marluxia shrieked, and Ven finished the job with a key-beam to the chest.

Marluxia fell to his knees, "Oh…so now it all comes back to me, Ven."

Ven ran forward, "Lauriam…" he beamed, "Lauriam!"

"My heart is remembering how to feel."

He smiled, "Really? That's good."

"And now I am on the cusp of reclaiming my identity. My purpose for being. Thanks to you, Ven. See you again…" he vanished, and Ven bowed his head. Merlin sat down beside him,

"You'll see him again, he'll be recompleted, and we'll look together."

"Thanks Merlin. Should we go help the others?"

Arthur's eyes widened, "Oh no. Xion!"

"What about her?" Ven asked, and it was Merlin's turn to be confused.

"She's the one you can't identify, Merlin. She was Roxas and Lea's friend, and she could use that against them! Either they bring her back, or she kills them."

Merlin's eyes widened, "Oh no. Let's go."

OoOoO

"When do you think he'll wake up?" Mor asked, looking at Vanitas slumped by the cliff wall. The Unversed and Heartless were still fighting, and nobody knew when it would stop.

Aqua shrugged, "I honestly don't think it's 'when' but 'if'."

"Huh?"

"Remember, he takes the Unverseds' pain, and there were hundreds, but now only dozens. If the pain reaches past human tolerance, he could go into Irreversible Shock, the same as if he lost half his blood. If he wakes up, it will be after the Heartless are gone, but if the Unversed go, either he'll wake up, or be as good as dead. When he was only darkness, he didn't have this problem as he was practically a Heartless himself, but he's human now, and that poses to be a serious problem."

"That's interesting to know."

They both turned and saw Young Xehanort emerge from a dark corridor, then vanish. Mor whirled around and saw he had picked up Vanitas.

"Let him go!"

"No. He still has his uses." Mor threw out her hand to perform magic, but Young Xehanort retaliated by freezing her in time, but she could still see everything that went on.

Aqua tried but was left with the same result as Young Xehanort grinned smugly and vanished with Vanitas, releasing them as he left.

"Vanitas is gone." Mor ran off, "We have to tell the others!"

OoOoO

When Merlin, Arthur and Ven found the others, it seemed they had handled themselves just fine and the positive outcome was the one to pass as Xion was standing there, a normal girl, crying in Lea's arms.

"Guess you didn't need our help then." Merlin said cheerfully. Lea looked up,

"My Keyblade's toast, but other than that, not really. Saix's gone, and he'll return to normal soon." Arthur found a sense of relief fill him, and took a breath, knowing his tormentor was gone.

"Your Keyblade?" Ven asked, intrigued.

"Yeah. Xemnas destroyed it."

"But Keyblades can't be destroyed, right?" Arthur asked, and Merlin shrugged,

"No. Maybe you just need to relearn how to use it."

"Possibly." Roxas agreed, "But Xion's taking his place to be safe."

"Okay then."

They heard someone running and turned to find Mor and Aqua,

"Vanitas is gone!"

"What?" Everyone asked, a surge of panic coursing through them.

"One of the Xehanorts came and took him!" Mor explained, "When we went in search of you, we ran into something with Vanitas' aura, but was a letter, saying 'thank you for bringing him back'."

Roxas frowned, "Do you think they still want him as their thirteen?"

"No." Merlin sighed, "I don't think so. But there's only one way to find out. Sora, Ven, Arthur, you're with me. Lea, Roxas, Aqua, Mor and Xion, go help Mickey, Riku and Terra, and meet us at the center."

The two groups went their separate ways and they found themselves in the night, a singular high ledge above with Master Xehanort on it. Young Xehanort, Xemnas and Ansem were below.

"Xehanort! Where's Vanitas?!" Ven demanded. Xehanort still didn't seem to care that he'd pissed off a Dandelion,

"Settle down, boy."

"It's Ventus to you!" And Merlin sighed, knowing this was time for the monologue,

"The thirteen darknesses and seven lights have clashed nine times, yielding these nine keys." And he was right on the money.

Sora paused, "Keys?"

"We are four short. But those four keys will be produced here and now."

"Yeah, sure," Sora snapped, "and what makes you think there'd be any way we'd help you with that?"

Merlin knew the answer, and so did Ven, but neither wanted to admit it, "You forget I plan for every eventuality."

Realization dawned on Sora, and Merlin knew he was right. "Vanitas!" Was being used as a hostage, and he could have yielded one of the keys depending on what Xehanort did, because he never said the darknesses had to be the ones beaten, the fight with the Unversed could have set it off.

Arthur took a few steps forward, "If you do summon Kingdom Hearts, we will defeat you. And we will close it again."

"Perhaps," Xehanort replied from above, but they could still hear him just fine, "that is…if you survive that long." Young Xehanort, Xemnas and Ansem walked forward, but Merlin glared, not in the mood to do this. He had been saving this for Xehanort, but this counted. He threw his hands out, and a burst of fire shot out, becoming brighter and hotter by the second, enveloping all three.

Arthur awed, "Two weeks. You haven't used your magic in two weeks, and this is why. You've been saving it."

Merlin nodded, "A God killer." The fire spread, but still vanished when Merlin stopped fueling it. He wiped away some sweat and approached Young Xehanort first, who was chuckling.

"What's so funny?"

"I told you there's a high price to pay for all of this." He was looking directly at Sora.

"And what price would that be?"

Young Xehanort stood up, "I'll go back to my time and live out my life. But Sora, you're done now. Your journey ends here."

Ven crossed his arms, "What?"

"Goodbye Sora. Your time in this world is—" He vanished, and Sora looked panicked, but a reassuring look from two of his overpowered friends made him smile. They walked over to Xemnas,

"Bested yet again."

Sora took a step forward, almost like he was debating a hug, "I know that you have a heart… What do you feel? Was it worth it?"

Xemnas sighed, and his response shocked everyone: "I feel… the emptiness where my companions once stood. I took them for granted. And now I have nothing. My first surge of emotion in years… for as long as I can remember… and it's loneliness. Do you see? A heart is just pain."

"Pain is being human, Xemnas." Arthur said.

Xemnas turned away from them, "Really? It must take incredible strength…" he vanished, and Merlin felt a pang of regret. But he didn't have time for that now, it was Ansem's turn.

"Your strength is vaster than darkness." He said, "I knew I never stood a chance. Part of me wanted to defy my fate, but when the others betrayed us, I found I did not care… and then nothing else seemed to matter anymore." Merlin felt tears in his eyes, Xehanort had even made other versions of himself miserable, maybe the others had been redeemable.

"Ansem…."

"What? It is time to move on, boys. There is more to seek. So, go forth now and seek it." He vanished too, and Sora bowed his head.

"I feel bad."

"Me too." Merlin glared up at Xehanort, who shrugged, as if he planned to fix something—possibly his broken his relationship with his (hopefully) only child.

"Twelve keys we have now. Leaving just one more now. Darkness and light's final clash." He flicked his wrist and an unconscious Vanitas floated next to him, hovering above the cliff edge.

"Vanitas!" Everyone shouted in panic.

"You require motivation." He raised his Keyblade, ready to strike a death blow, and Merlin sighed,

"Sorry Arthur, this is going to hurt both of us." Then he vanished much like the vessels had before and it wasn't Vanitas who got stabbed.

Merlin took Xehanort's blow straight to the heart.

Arthur felt it, and it hurt like hell as he floated up to Merlin, who had an all too familiar red glow, the same one from his vision—which had lost accuracy to the point he had hoped there was no reliability, turned out he was wrong.

There was a blinding flash and in both his and Merlin's hand…

Was the X-Blade.

Merlin opened his eyes, defying gravity with his brother, and his eyes were pure white balls of light,

"You really shouldn't have done that."

"NO!" Xehanort roared, "That's mine!"

"Then come get it." Merlin nodded to Arthur and flew at his father, slicing through cleanly. Xehanort let out a choked gasp, falling to his knees. The fight was over so quickly, and the mountain came down, and he was back on a flat surface, and the others were there too.

"My boy…" Xehanort breathed, coughing, "You really are special." Merlin didn't speak, he just stared, radiating power. Judging by the expressions of the others, Arthur himself was the same, but he could tell Merlin held more of the power. Vanitas was still cradled in Ven's arms, breathing uneven but stable.

Terra stepped forward, "As I said, Xehanort, there's more to light than meets the eye."

Xehanort looked shocked, "Eraqus, you sly fox." And then Master Eraqus emerged from Terra as a spirit.

"You have been beaten. It's time to go."

"Master?" Aqua gasped, and Ven set Vanitas down in Sora's arms, running at the man, "Master!" All of them did, except Merlin, who still just stared. Eraqus hugged them, and stroked Merlin's cheek, not getting any response,

"My children, I am a terrible teacher." He looked to Ven, "I put you through such a harrowing experience. Aqua and Merlin, I gave you such heavy burdens for children so young." He looked up to Terra, "Take care of them."

"Of course." He escaped the tearful grips of his apprentices and helped Xehanort up, "Ready to go?"

"Yes, old friend." Thy began to glow and took the form of two teenagers, turning to light and vanishing. The X-Blade vanished.

And Merlin fell over.

"Merlin!" Arthur found himself feeling fine, but Merlin was death pale. He shook his brother, "Open your eyes!" He found a piece of paper in Merlin's hand,

 _Arthur,_

 _I think it's time I told you the truth. When you verbally named me heir, your heart transferred to mine, which protected you when Xehanort took you, but there is another way to complete the X-Blade, Xehanort was almost right the first time. It was not Light and Darkness that needed to clash but equals and opposites that needed to unite—you and me. But to keep you safe, I only used what I needed, and your heart returned to you, but mine will fall into oblivion and die._

 _I love you all, you're all my best friends, and I do not wish to leave you, but I have no choice._

 _All my love,_

 _Merlin_

Arthur shrieked and Ven gasped, his hand flying over his mouth, shaking Merlin harder,

"WAKE UP! Merlin, I swear to Kingdom Hearts, if you die, I will bring you back from the dead, just so I can put you in the stocks for a month! Prince be damned!" He started crying, "Please…"

Riku put a hand on his shoulder, "Arthur…he's gone…" Ven and Aqua were being held by Terra, sobbing into his chest as the brunette cried as well. Everyone was devasted, but none more than Arthur, who literally just lost half of his heart. This was why Merlin hadn't responded to anything, he had been dying, saving his strength to strike down Xehanort.

But there was no hope. Merlin wasn't in a coma like Ven had been, he was truly gone, he wasn't breathing. He was crying, and he found himself quietly singing,

" _'Cause you'll be in my heart_

 _Yes, you'll be in my heart_

 _From this day on_

 _Now and forever more…"_ He continued to cry, but he gasped and looked down when he heard Merlin's voice,

" _You'll be in my heart_

 _No matter what they say_

 _You'll be here in my heart, always."_ he opened his eyes, "Arthur…"

Arthur gave a teary smile, "Merlin…you're alive…thank god…"

"But I don't understand," Roxas mused, "how?"

"The power of the heart." Vanitas said, waking up and massaging his temples, "Just like how Ventus healed me just with contact because we were one in the same, the same applies for you and Merlin. Because Merlin's heart hadn't fully snuffed out yet, there was still a chance."

"Vanitas!" Ven wrapped a blanket around his brother, "Are you okay?"

"I think I've created a new meeting to the term 'dead inside' so I've been better."

Merlin nodded, "I think I can agree on that statement." He leaned into Arthur's arms, "I'm…" he passed out and Arthur panicked, but Mor assured him,

"He's exhausted, and his heart is still weak. Stay with him while he recovers, and he'll wake up."

"So, he's in a coma now." Lea drawled, "Lovely."

"Welcome to being a Keyblade wielder." Xion snapped playfully, "It's sort of a rite of passage."

"True that. Time to place bets on how long, I say ten days." Ven agreed, and everyone took a breath of relief. Everything was okay, and Merlin would wake up.

This was the start of their happily ever after.

 **A/N: Next chapter in the final chapter, then the epilogue. And it will be explained why Arthur's vision was pretty unreliable. And I'm sorry all you people who wanted Kairi in the final fight, I just feel taking a Princess of Heart to a big fight would be handing her to Xehanort on a silver platter, so I opted against it.**

 **See you soon!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Happily, Ever After**

They had made bets on how long Merlin would remain in a coma, but only Roxas and Xion were still in the running.

Seventeen days had passed.

Arthur hadn't left Merlin's side once, for fear that if he did, his brother's heart would snuff out. He rarely slept either.

"Come on Merlin," he begged, looking at the white sheets. Merlin's room as a child had been quite white admittedly, with the walls being sky blue and everything else being white. All the other rooms in the castle were tan, "Just open your eyes." He squeezed Merlin's cold hand, "Please?" No response.

Gaius came in, "Any change?"

"Nope. Still cold and lifeless."

Gaius sat down, "He's taking his sweet time. But Arthur, Merlin's strong, he'll pull through."

"You didn't have him die in your arms. It was hard, really hard. And I heard Mickey asking Yen Sid if his situation was like Ven's. People keep saying it isn't, but the fear is still there." He glared at Merlin, who looked so damn peaceful, as though he could wake up at any moment. He clenched his fist, he wasn't used to feeling so helpless. If someone told him of a way to make Merlin wake up, he'd travel to the end of the universe for it, "I need him to wake up."

"We all do."

OoOoO

Arthur blinked when he realized he was back at Gorlois' estate, and Lady Viviane was again standing before him with Elaine.

"What am I doing here?"

"I came to congratulate you on a job well done."

"Your vision wasn't very reliable." He snapped, cursing her because it had made him lose sleep.

"It wasn't. It was but one possible future, and at the time it was the most likely. By telling you there wa nothing you could do, you changed it. If you try to change it, it will come to pass, but if you do not, it will not. And I am relieved. Farewell Arthur Pendragon, you best wake up now."

Arthur snapped awake and found himself staring into identical blue eyes.

Merlin's eyes.

"Merlin! You're awake!"

Merlin rubbed his eyes, "Yeah. What happened? The last thing I remember is Vanitas explaining Power of the Heart."

"You fell into a coma and have been in one for seventeen days, or I guess eighteen now as the sun just came up. Looks like Roxas wins the bet." Roxas bet twenty days and Xion bet twenty-two.

"Wow. No wonder I feel so refreshed. How's Vanitas? He was in a bad way when I saw him last."

Arthur flinched, "Yeah…he still isn't doing too well." The pain really had hit beyond his limit and he went into shock, so all the blood left his limbs and rushed to his heart—the blood-pumping organ—and brain to stay alive, but he lost the use of his arms and legs for days and endured the pins-and-needles sensation for a couple more, now he was using a walker to get around, but according to Ansem the Wise, he would recover with some physical therapy. Though Vanitas was still sensitive with being so 'helpless' and had taken back to the destructive habit of killing Unversed to try getting stronger, but Ven, Sora and Roxas were sparring with him so he wouldn't harm himself while training. "He's getting better, slowly."

Merlin smiled, "I'm glad." He stood up and stumbled a little, before standing taller than Arthur had ever seen, like Xehanort's death had taken a tremendous burden off his shoulders, "Come on, let's go see the others!"

They walked downstairs and saw everyone training out front. Riku was the first to notice them,

"Merlin's awake!" Everyone turned so fast they might have given themselves whiplash. Shockingly, Gaius was the first there, showing shocking speed for an old man without a Keyblade,

"Oh, my boy! I was so worried about you!"

"We all were." Mor chimed in. Roxas grinned,

"I win the bet!" He held his hand out expectantly to Lea—who had been in charge of holding the money as he didn't want to participate in the bet—and he got himself over a thousand munny. Lancelot smiled from his wheelchair and the other knights brought him over and it got to the point Merlin couldn't make out anything anyone was saying, except two things.

"Gwen and Arthur and engaged…" he started grinning like an idiot, a true happy grin that put the one he had on in Camelot to shame, "And so are Terra and Aqua?! SCORE!"

Everyone laughed, and Sora pecked Kairi on the cheek, and it reminded Merlin of someone very important.

"I need to go."

Riku knew what was up, "I'll go too, I need to pick someone up."

OoOoO

"Okay Freya, you can open your eyes now."

Freya opened her eyes and gasped, seeing the area where Aqua had given her friends their wayfinders, the stars were out and twinkling innocently.

"It's just as beautiful as you described." She was the only one to learn every little detail, and in their plans to run away together, he had promised they would return the Land of Departure to normal, rescue Aqua and Ven—who in extent would save Terra—and they would all share a night under these stars, free of all curses.

"Yeah, it is." They sat down on the railing together, and he handed her some sea salt ice cream, "It's kind of the main treat around here."

She took a bite and her eyes widened, eating some more.

"The first night free of my curse is just as amazing as I envisioned. Here, with you."

"Percival's here too, you know that? He said you were his sister."

She looked shocked, "Yeah. Where is he?"

"Back at the castle with everyone else, eating dinner. Do you want to finish your ice cream and go see them?" She nodded, and snuggled in her lover's arms, finishing her ice cream as a meteor shower started.

"A meteor shower, just like that day." They both turned and saw Ven standing there, Chirithy sitting on his shoulder. He was joined by Aqua and Terra not long after, then Arthur, Mor and Gwen, then the knights, and so on until everyone was there.

"I missed you." Percival said, crushing Freya into a hug.

"You too."

Gwen giggled, "So tomorrow we go back to Camelot?"

"Yeah." Merlin agreed, "And make a few improvements. But for now, let's just watch the stars."

OoOoO

Merlin was surrounded by the people of Camelot, all of which were elated and cheering for their heroes.

"Are you ready?" They cheered again, and Merlin slammed his foot down on the ground, and the city changed, modernized, into a combination of Radiant Garden and Daybreak Town.

Ven gasped, "It's just like my home."

"That was the point." He threw his hand out and a portal appeared, a gateway to the Land of Departure,

"Listen to me, everyone. Magic has returned to this land, and if any of you or your children wish to learn how to master it, come to the Land of Departure, and you will find help. There is no reason to be afraid anymore!"

OoOoO

And in the coming weeks, celebration after celebration was held, for the noble weddings, the saving of the universe, and so on. It seemed the whole of the newly united Albion was trapped in eternal happiness.

Aqua became the next Master of the Land of Departure, which had to add a bigger school as kids never wanted to leave. Terra and Aqua were married and had their first child not long after, a son, to be named Eraqus.

Lea and Isa found Project X, and it turned out her real name was Skuld, a very good friend of Ven's, and the two reunited with Lauriam and Elrena.

Mor worked alongside the Druids to rebuild the Isle of the Blessed, and adopted Mordred as her legal son, even performing the Inheritance Ceremony on him, and helped raise Aithusa alongside Merlin.

The knights became unbeatable with their training, and helped train future knights in the making, and anyone could be a knight, even women, if they so wished. Propriety was taken down.

Merlin turned down being the heir of Camelot, in favor of Gwen of any future child, but he was still in the royal family and switched between the Land of Departure and Camelot weekly.

Vanitas found true love in Xion, while Riku and Namine got together, and Sora and Kairi were in a sustained relationship, while Roxas and Ventus loved playing wingman.

In the passing years, there were many threats to the worlds, from the returned Foretellers to Maleficent and Pete finally getting off their asses to do something, but they Guardians of Light always emerged victorious.

And everyone remembered Emrys and the Once and Future King.

 **A/N: Last chapter is the Epilogue.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Epilogue: Ten years later**

Two middle-aged men were fighting on a mostly empty battlement above a beautiful city. One of them had raven black hair, and several medals clinking on his jacket. The other wore more red clothes, and his blonde hair was swept in a wave. Both had blue eyes and looked to be in their early 30s.

The first rolled behind the other, quickly sweeping their legs from underneath them.

"HEY!" The blonde collapsed in a heap, the ravenette smirking and extending his hand,

"Need any help?"

The blonde glared at his companion's hand, and said "That was cheap."

The ravenette laughed while the blonde accepted his hand. "Well I can't help it if I'm better than you, Arthur."

Arthur still looked annoyed, but smiled "I thought I was better!"

"Nope, that'd be me!"

They then got into a playful argument over who was the better one, which then escalated in a matter of moments.

"Says the pompous idiot!"

"Clotpole!"

"The only reason you're so special _Mer_ lin, is because Grand Master Ventus likes you more!" Ven was now considered a Grand Master as a Dandelion, and only he was coming today as today was the anniversary of winning the war against Xehanort, so only those who fought in the war, their significant others and their children participated.

"He does not, and you know that!"

"Bullshit!"

Arthru then turned around in a huff, obviously annoyed. Merlin put a hand on his shoulder "Hey, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Arthur, you're the best king Camelot could ever ask for."

Arthur then grabbed Merlin's arm and threw him to the ground, playfully saying "Got ya!"

Merlin spluttered in surprise for a few moments, then said "Cheater!" Arthur only grinned "I think you've forgotten, Merlin, that, having lived under my father's teachings, I know how to mask up my real feelings. It wasn't really cheating either, since all's fair in love and war."

Merlin rolled his eyes, "Fine, fine. You got me." Although he said it begrudgingly.

A young woman with cherry red hair sitting in the shade of a bush giggled alongside her brunette husband. Merlin looked over, annoyed "Gee thanks for having some faith in me, Kairi!" The woman's giggles escalated into laughter. A little girl walked up. Her hair was the same shade of brown as Sora's, but here eyes were clearly Kairi's.

"Mommy, what's so funny?! Unka Merlin got beated by Unka Arthur!"

"UnCLE," Arthur corrected his surrogate niece. He then walked over and scooped her up, gleefully saying "How's my little ball of sunshine?" the girl giggled and said "Fine."

Sora walked over to Kairi and gave her a quick kiss "I'm hoping Misty hasn't given you any trouble?"

Kairi kissed him back, and said "She's been our perfect little light."

Mor and Mordred came at that moment, and Mordred took Misty and spun her, darting into the bushes and pulling out a dark-skinned boy with black hair and striking blue eyes.

The boy giggled, "Mordred!" He hopped down and ran to Arthur, "Daddy!" Arthur picked his son up happily,

"Good to see you, Amhar. I assume Mom's out with Uncle Elyan." Amhar nodded and Arthur set his son down and looked around the courtyard, and checked his watch "Gosh darn it, guys, you were supposed to be here with—"

"HEY!" A girl yelled, turning everyone's heads to the entrance of the courtyard. The girl had platnium blond hair, messily styled and in an uncontrollable mop, and icy blue eyes. Standing behind her was a woman about Sora's age sharing the same coloration. Following them were two identical young men, one wearing a long robe fitting of a foreteller, holding his Chirithy, and the other wearing basic casual clothing.

The girl snatched a large piece of paper from her mother and rushed over, proudly saying "Look what me and Mom made!" It was a portrait of our heroes of the Realm of Light, ten years ago, all beaming proudly.

"See, there's you, and Uncle Sora—" the girl paused, waving at his uncle "Hi Uncle Sora—and there's Aunt Kairi, and there's you and mom and Uncle Ven and Uncle Lea—"

"Hey! I'm here guys!" the very same man waltzed in. "Sorry about being late! Got a little sidetracked with Isa." Isa was back to normal now, not evil. It had taken time, but Arthur no longer flinched around the blue-haired man and could be considered friends with him.

Lea noticed his niece, and held out his hand in a high five "How's my awesome little niece?"

The boy returned the high five, saying "Great, hey, look at what me and Mom made!"

Lea marveled at the drawing, the exclaimed "Wow Omilie! Your mom has taught you really well!"

Omilie beamed, obviously delighting in the attention.

"Hello? Anyone arriving for the anniversary yet?" Terra and Aqua walked in, in their hands a bouncy ten-year-old boy with brown hair and blue eyes.

"Hey mom, where's Uncle Merlin? I don't see him—"

"Right over here!" Merlin walked over, and Eraqus grinned and then the two began babbling the things boys talked about, while Terra sighed to Kairi "They are one in the same, Eraqus is just like Merlin when he was little."

Another young woman came, with chocolate brown hair and eyes, holding a little girl with the same color hair and Merlin's ocean blue eyes.

Merlin looked up, "Freya! Kelda!" The little girl ran over,

"Hi Daddy!"

Riku looked around, and inquired "Where's Vanitas?"

Indeed, Vanitas had yet to arrive. Then, suddenly, he came dashing in, paler than usual, and exclaiming,

"Xion's in labor!" The buzz spread through the courtyard, Ven quickly rushing over to his brother's side exactly like Vanitas had done for everyone else over the years prior. "Hey! That's great! Your gonna be a Dad—"

"That's what I'm worried about! Am I really ready?! Is it a boy or girl?! I mean—just—argh!" Ven only patted Vanitas' shoulder, rolling his eyes. It was remarkable, how quickly the young man had broken down.

Vanitas then bolted up and yelled, "Wait, what in Kingdom Hearts am I doing here?! XION'S IN FREAKING LABOR! I gotta go, I'll see you guys later!" and he ran put of the courtyard, absently waving back.

Sora grinned "Well finally. We've been waiting for him to catch up!"

Freya only rolled her eyes "Giving birth is such a lovely thing, isn't it?"

"Yeah!" Riku said enthusiastically. He then paused, and quickly muttered "Okay, I might be romanticizing it..."

Misty then innocently asked "Mommy, what's labor?"

Kairi stiffened a little, then said "It's hard work."

"Then why is Unka Vani so uppity? Is it _really_ hard work?"

"Hmmm, in a way. I'll explain more when your older." She then patted her daughter along, saying "How about you go play with Omilie, Mordred, Kelda, Amhar and Eraqus?"

"Kay mommy!"

Sora sighed in relief "Geez, that was quite a bullet to dodge!" Kairi pecked his cheek, only saying "That's because you can't grow a pair."

Sora tugged her hair, snarking back "I think you already know I have!"

"Okay, quit it you two," Merlin sighed. He held Arthur and Ven's hand, Arthur held Mor's, Sora grasped Kairi's hand while Namine grabbed Riku's, who grabbed Terra's hand, who was already holding Aqua's, who held Lea's.

"We're here to celebrate, not gouge each others eyes out. Ten years ago, we all became heroes and fulfilled our destinies. Now let's just sit back and let life do the driving."

Mor chuckled, "We're Keyblade Masters, do you really think we won't fly off a cliff?" She looked to the children playing tag with an almost grown Mordred. They were Keyblade wielders, and both Kelda and Omilie had magic, so there was no telling where things would go for them. Hopefully up, but they still had bets as to which one would go into a coma first.

Everyone could only laugh at the accuracy.

 **A/N: And we are finished! Glad you folks love the story and thank you for your time! FYI Vanitas and Xion had a son named Ephemer, because Vanitas did have Ven's memories of the time.**

 **Well, good bye readers, until my next story!**


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